'■'fi'^  ,!i 


iipia  li|l|i 


1    !    ™  liii 


^Uerc  arc  ijct  new 
Worlds  to  find  ^ 


iRoVandBenms  Hii5sei| 


Pliuio.  liv  Dicz  y  Speiii-er.  .Siiiiii:i! 


Kill:.  Ijv  M.  F.  Ci.ciii.  San  Vt 


DOMINGO   SANTA  MARIA, 

Thk  Grkat  Kefoiimkh. 

I^resideiit  of  Chili  from  1871)  to  1885. 


,  lA 


CUvx^ 


1 
Jl 


^'T  IN 


IZATlUt 


/ y^  \ ^^^ I 

^TTTT  "" 
jillLl. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT. 


J.    M.   SPANGLER. 


San   Francisco,  Cal.: 
n.  G.  PARSONS,  BOOK  AND  JOB  PRINTER. 

1885. 


UBRABY 

UNIVEBSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BAftfiABA 


J  ^ 


^ 


Dedication  . 


To  my  fellow  co-laborers  iu  the  American  college  iu  Cou- 
cepcioji,  Chili;  tomy  frieml,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Eobertsou,  of  the 
same  city;  to  the  ever-increasing  number  of  educated  gentle- 
men and  ladies,  native  to  the  country,  who  are  laboring  with 
tireless  energy  and  unselfish  devotion  to  make  Chili  a  land 
of  perfect  freedom,  this  book  is  affectionately  inscribed. 


Errors. 


In  the  preface,  read  Javier  Morales  instead  of  Jarier 
Morales. 

On  page  19,  read  Villa  Gran  for  Villa  Gran. 

In  several  places  the  words  Chilino  and  Chilina  are  used 
by  the  printer  interchangeably — he  not  understanding  that 
the  former  is  a  man  and  the  latter  a  woman;  and,  as  a  con- 
sequence, has  given  us  female  soldiers    and  female  politi- 


PREFACE. 


During  the  summer  of  1882,  I  accepted  an  appoint- 
ment from  Bishop  William  Taylor  placing  me  at  the  head 
of  his  two  American  schools  inConcepcion,  Chili — namely, 
a  college  for  young  gentlemen,  and  one  for  young  ladies. 
Very  naturally,  prior  to  setting  sail  for  my  field  of  labor. 
I  desired  to  obtain  as  much  information  as  possible  con- 
cerning the  country  that  was  to  be  my  future  home.  I 
remembered,  imperfectly,  that  my  geography  had  informed 
me  that  Chili  was  a  Republic,  about  fifteen  hundred  miles 
long  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  wide  ;  that 
Santiago  was  the  capital,  and  that  Valparaiso  was  the 
chief  seaport  town.  From  my  encyclopedia  I  learned 
that  the  country  had  certain  annual  exports  and  imports  of 
stated  values  ;  that  a  trans-Andine  railway  connected 
Santiago  with  the  Atlantic  Ocean  at  Buenos  Ayres,  (when 
I  arrived  in  Chili,  I  learned  that  the  railway  had  never 
existed  except  on  paper) ;  that  certain  schools  were  es- 
tablished at  various  places,  and  that  the  people  were  a 
mixture  of  Spanish  and  Indian,  and  were  quite  pro- 
gressive. From  Bishop  Taylor's  own  book,  "  Our  South 
American  Cousins,"  I  learned  that  he  had  passed  through 
the  country,  talked  with  the  President  of  the  Republic, 
rode  sundry  miles  on  the  railways,  saw  a  girl  crying  about 
her  lover,  and  a  woman  carrying  a  goose,  wrapped  in  a 
blanket. 

Other  information  I  could  not  obtain;  and  for  aught 
I  knew,  one-half  of  the  inhabitants  might  be  living  in 
wigwams,  ready  to  scalp  me  and  my  family  on  slightest 
provocation.     To    the   hundreds   of    questions    asked   me 


PREFACE. 

daily  by  friends  I  could  give  no  answer.  The  better  class 
of  people  might  possibly  dress  as  do  the  civilized  people 
of  the  world;  they  might  possibly  have  comfortable  homes, 
and  plenty  of  decent,  wholesome  food— and  again,  they 
might  not  have  these  things. 

Furthermore,  I  found  that  people  in  general — educated 
people — knew  as  little  about  the  country  as  I  did.  One 
grave  college  professor  assured  me  that  it  would  be  very 
romantic  to  travel  in  a  country  where  the  swiftly  flowing 
mountain  streams  were  all  crossed  by  means  of  baskets 
suspended  by  stretched  ropes. 

When  I  arrived  in  Chili,  and  found  a  civilization  that, 
in  many  respects,  compares  favorably  with  that  of  Europe 
and  the  United  States,  I  was  very  agreeably  surprised, 
and  at  once  determined  to  write  concerning  it  a  small  work 
for  publication — hence  this  little  book. 

In  preparing  the  third  and  fourth  chapters,  I  am 
indebted  to  Eev.  Dr.  D.  Trumbull,  Valparaiso,  from  whose 
pamphlet  on  the  "Constitutional  History  of  Chili,"  I  copied 
largely.  I  am  also  indebted  to  Mr.  Jarier  Morales  del  Eio, 
of  Concepciou,  for  the  use  of  many  books,  papers  and 
pamphlets,  that  aided  me  greatlj'^  in  obtaining  historical 
facts. 

J.    M.    SpANGliKB. 


CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 


CHAPTER    I. 


Powerful  Peruvian  Monarchy — The  Conquest  of  Chili — Defeat 
—Overthrow  of  the  Indians — Aboriginal  Tribes — A  Ea- 
rn arkable  Tradition  of  the  Deluge. 

/P^|UAINA  CAPAC,  whose  name  signifies  pow- 
I^Tf  ei'ful,  rich  young  man,  was  the  eleventh 
^^a  Inca  of  Peru,  who  held  dominion  in  that 
country  about  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  So  powerful  was  he  that  he  was  the  ac- 
knowledged sovereign  of  fifteen  hundred  provinces, 
where  he  imposed  taxes,  mide  laws,  and,  as  rep- 
resentative of  the  sun,  was  the  head  of  the  priest- 
hood— at  once  a  ruler,  a  father,  and  an  instructor 
of  more  than  thirty  millions  of  people.  So  rich 
was  he  that  in  his  palace  were  immense  statues  of 
giant  men  wrought  in  pure  silver  and  gold,  as 
well  as  figures  representing  the  natural  history  of 
the  country — fishes,  birds,  flowers  and  grasses,  all 
made  of  the  latter  metal.  At  his  death  six  thou- 
sand persons  were  sacrificed,  two  thousand  of  whom 


6  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHlLI. 

were  beheaded,  to  accompany  him  as  servants  to 
the  spirit  land;  the  remaining  four  thousand  were 
his  kinsmen,  oifered  to  the  sun  in  his  honor  and  for 
his  advancement  with  the  gods. 

Cusi  Guascar,  his  eldest  son,  succeeded  to  the 
throne,  and  at  once  commenced  the  fulfillment  of 
his  father's  desires,  by  sending  a  powerful  army 
across  the  Andes  mountains  to  subjugate  the  peo- 
ple of  Chili.  When  they  came  to  the  valley  of 
Copiapo,  in  the  northern  province  of  the  latter 
country,  they  found  it  inhabited  by  a  strong  nation 
of  Indians,  weariug  many  gold  and  silver  orna- 
ments, and  possessing  flocks  and  herds;  and  who, 
though  they  had  every  appearance  of  being  a  war- 
like people,  were  not  so  barbarous  as  to  be  devoid 
of  all  courtesies  and  hospitable  dispositions. 

When  the  Peruvian  leader  explained  to  them  the 
greatness  of  the  Inca's  domain,  the  peculiar  rites  and 
ceremonies  required  in  their  sun-worship,  as  well 
their  superior  knowledge  of  agriculture,  the  Copi- 
apoins  offered  them  no  resistance;  on  the  contrary, 
they  lodged  them  in  their  homes,  made  them  rich 
presents  of  gold  triokets,  and  feasted  them  on 
the  flesh  of  their  flocks.  But  as  soon  as  the  Peru- 
vians announced  that  they  would  require  annually 
large  sums  of  gold  for  their  king,  as  well  as  a  full 
acceptance  of  sun-worship,  the  people  who  had  ap- 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  * 

peared  so  passive  and  quiet  flew  to  ams  and  drove 
them  from  the  country. 

When  Guascar  heard  of  the  overthrow  of  his 
army,  his  indignation  knew  no  bounds;  for  he  vain- 
ly believed  that  his  was  the  greatest  kingdom,  and 
he,  as  viceroy  of  the  sun,  the  greatest  personage 
in  all  the  world.  One  hundred  thousand  men  were 
at  once  sent  out,  under  his  own  kinsmen,  to  renew 
conquest  So  successful  were  they  that  in  a  short 
time  not  only  the  Copiapoins,  but  all  northern 
Chili,  was  reduced,  and  became  subjects  of  his 
majesty. 

But  little  else  is  known  of  the  aborigines  of  this 
country.  What  has  been  written  by  different  au- 
thors seems  to  be  conflicting,  and  to  carry  with  it 
a  tone  of  uncertainty.  The  Spanish  invasion  fol- 
lowed soon  after;  and  while  it  is  true  that  the  In- 
dians of  Chili  to-day  are  direct  descendants  of  the 
primitive  tibes,  it  is  also  true  that  the  influence  of 
the  Spaniard  for  so  many  centuries  has  changed 
them  into  a  different  people,  with  difierent  habits 
and  manners  of  living. 

It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that  the  early  Chi- 
lians were  very  superior  Indians,  in  language  and 
in  military  effort,  as  will  appear  in  another  chap- 
ter. One  thing  about  them,  which  seems  very  re- 
markable, and  for   a  statement  of   which  I  am  in- 


8  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

debted  to  R  P.  Diego's  "Reyno  de  Chili  "  *  a  work 
generally  accepted  as  authentic  iu  all  that  Repub- 
lic, is  that  they  had  a  tradition  that  carried  them 
back  to  the  Deluge.  They  believed  that  the  earth 
was  once  destroyed  by  water,  and  that  a  few  peo- 
ple only  were  saved  of  all  the  inhabitants  then  liv- 
ing; that  these  were  saved  by  fleeing  to  a  high 
mountfiin  called  Tenten;  that  the  people  had  been 
warned  of  the  aj)proaching  destruction  by  a  good 
man.  who  went  among  them  advising  them  to  flee 
to  that  particular  mountain  for  safety;  but  as  he 
was  very  poor  and  of  humble  birth,  only  a  few 
heeded  his  warning. 

Their  tradition  furthermore  taught  them  that 
on  Tenten  was  a  large  animal  in  form  of  a  serpent, 
of  the  same  name  as  the  mountain,  very  good  and 
wise,  that  undertook  the  (  rotection  of  all  who  fled 
to  him.  But  another  serpent,  very  ugly,  fierce  and 
wicked,  whose  home  was  in  the  great  deep,  and 

*"Teiiteu  que  para  aplacar  su  enoso  y  el  de  Caicai,  8enor  del  mar 
que  sacrilicassen  uno  de  sus  hixos,  y  descuartizandole  en  quartos' 
partes,  las  echassen  al  mar,  para  que  las  comiesscn  los  Reyes  de  los 
Pezes  y  las  Slrenas,  y  se  serenasse  el  mar.  Y  que  haziendolo  assi,  se 
fueron  disrainuyendo  las  aguas  y  volvieudo  a  vaxar  el  mar.  Y  al 
passo  que  las  aguas  iban  vasando,  a  esse  paso  iba  tambien  vaxando 
el  monte  Tenten,  hasta  que  S'  assento  eu  su  propio  lugar.  Y 
diciendo  entonzes  la  Culebra  Ten,  ten,  quedaron  ella  y  el  monte 
con  ese  nombre  de  Tenten,  celebre  y  de  grande  religion  entre 
los  indios.  Que  como  a  miserables  na  tenido  enganados  esta  astuta 
Culebra,  que  engano  a  muestros  primeros  Padres  en  el  Paraiso."— 
Reyno  de  Chili,  Vol,  I,  page  6. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT. 


whose  name  was  Gici,  was  determined  upon  the  de- 
struction of  all  the  people.  While  Tenten  was  as. 
suring  the  people,  through  his  ambassador,  that 
destruction  was  surel}--  coming  upon  them,  the 
serpent  of  the  deep  was  no  less  busy  in  assuring 
them  that  it  was  all  a  delusion.  When  he,  Cici, 
succeeded  in  getting  them  all  within  easy  cast  of 
his  great  net,  he  suddenly  caused  the  sea  to  over- 
flow and  catch  them,  when  he  pi-oceeded  to  turn 
them  all  into  monsters  like  himself,  to  do  his  bid- 
ding and  serve  his  evil  purposes  forever.  He  even 
purposed  destroying  those  who  had  fled  to  Tenten, 
and  jjursued  them  vigorously;  but  as  fast  as  he 
pushed  the  waters  up,  good  Tenten  raised  up  the 
mountain.  The  battle  raged  long  and  furiously. 
All  the  evil  hosts  were  called  from  afar  to  help 
make  the  destruction  complete.  Onward  and  up- 
ward rolled  the  great  and  furious  billows;  but  they 
were  never  successful  in  reaching  Tenten  and  his 
happy  hosts,  for  the  mountain  ever  kept  going 
higher  than  the  waters.  Finally  the  sun  was 
reached,  and  the  battle  came  to  a  singular  ter- 
mination; for  among  the  happy  throng  was  found 
one  who  was  worthy  of  making  a  great  sacrifice. 
The  ofi'ering  was  his  son.  When  he  had  been  slain 
and  his  blood  sprinkled  upon  the  waters,  Cici  lost 
his  great  power,  and  the  waters  and  the  mountain 
returned  to  their  former  condition. 


10  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

This  is  certainly  a  most  remarkable  tradition, 
and  if  true,  is  near  enough  like  the  Bible  account 
of  the  Deluge  to  show  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  an- 
cestors of  those  people  either  migrated  from  Asia 
or  had  some  means  of  communicating  with  the 
ancient  Asiatics  or  Egyptians. 


CHAPTKR   II. 

First  White  Man  in  Chili — Three  Ancient  Kingdoms— A  Ter- 
rible Battle — Expedition  of  Almagro— His  Reception— His 
Defeat — The  Conquest  by  Peter  Valdivia— Founding  of 
Cities — A  Terrible  Battle  with  the  Dwellers  in  the  South — 
Defeat  of  the  Spaniards — A  Miracle — Valdivia's  Defeat  and 
Death — Exploits  of  Lautaro,  a  Terrible  Boy  Chieftan — He 
Defeats  the  Spaniards  and  Destroys  their  Important 
Cities — He  Contemplates  the  Overthrow  and  Expulsion 
of  the  Whole  Spanish  Colony — The  March  upon  the  Cap- 
ital— Defeat  of  the  Purumancians — Lautaro's  Death — Ex- 
ploits of  the  Marquis  of  Canete — His  Cruelties — Death  of 
an  Araucanian  General — Senor  Don  Martin — Independence 
of  Araucania. 

[I^'iHE  first  white  man  known  to  have  penetrated 
into  the  interior  of  Chili  was  a  Spaniard, 
who,  for  some  crime  committed  in  Cusco, 
had  been  punished,  disgraced,  and  disfig- 
ured by  having  both  ears  cut  from  his  head,  and 
who  fled  across  the  Andes  to  hide  himself  from  his 
fellow-men. 

Prior  to  this  the  country — afterwards  called 
Chili  on  account  of  the  cold  rains  in  the  winter 
months,  and  the  cool  winds  during  summer — was 
divided  by  the  primitive  inhabitants  into  three 
small  kingdoms.  The  first  of  these,  extending 
along    the   mountains,  and  including  a   portion  of 


12  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

Argentine,  was  called  Pehuenche,  dwellers  in  the 
east;  the  second  was  called  Morache,  dwellers  in 
the  west;  and  the  third  was  called  Hllliche,  dwell- 
ers in  the  south;  the  names  of  all  arising,  no  doubt, 
from  location  with  reference  to  certain  objects. 

So  far  as  known,  these  people  all  spoke  the  same 
language,  had  the  same  manners  and  custom?,  had 
similar  governments,  were  bound  together  by  kin- 
dred ties,  but  were  independent  from  each  other  as 
nations. 

In  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  Cusci, 
Gruascar's  successor,  sought  to  further  subjugate 
these  people,  in  accordance  with  the  long-standing 
desire  of  his  nation.  A  great  army  of  tried  and 
experienced  warriors,  who  were  assembled  at  Cus- 
co,  the  capital  of  ancient  Peru,  soon  took  up  the 
line  of  march.  They  successfully  crossed  the 
mountains  and  entered  the  country;  but,  in  giving 
battle  with  the  people  of  Billiche,  the  dwellers  in 
the  south,  whither  Yuprauqui,  the  Inca,  sought  to 
carry  his  conquests,  the  Peruvians  met  with  terri- 
ble resistance,  -^fter  a  great  battle  that  lasted  for 
several  days,  in  which  there  was  much  destruction 
of  life,  and  during  which  time  both  armies  sub- 
sisted on  their  slain,  the  Inca  ordered  hostilities  to 
cease.  Whether  the  people  Billiche  were  after- 
wards overthrown,  or  became  willing  subjects  of 
the  Incas,  I  cannot  safely  say,  as   history  seems  to 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  13 

be  conflicting  and  inrlefinite.  However,  when 
Governor  Don  Diego  de  Almagro  became  dissatis 
fied  with  his  portion  of  the  spoils  after  the  devil- 
ish conquest  of  Cusco,  and  jjushed  on  to  the 
discovery  and  subjugation  of  Chili,  already  famous 
for  gold,  it  appears  that  all  these  chief tainries  were 
paying  annuities  in  gold  to  Peru. 

This  was  neirly  eighty  years  later,  in  1535,  and 
Almagro,  with  an  army  of  less  than  six  hundred 
Spaniards  and  fifteen  thousand  Peruvians,  was  the 
second  European  to  visit  this  country.  When  he 
reached  Copiapo,  so  fatiguing  and  dreadful  had 
been  the  mountainous  journey  that  more  than  one 
hundred  and  forty  of  his  Spanish  comrades  and 
over  ten  thousand  of  his  Indian  auxiliaries  had 
died.  Here  Diego  called  a  halt,  and,  in  order  to 
revive  the  drooping  spirits  of  his  fellow-soldiers 
from  Spain,  distributed  among  them  a  million  of 
dollars'  worth  of  gold,  which  he  forcibly  took  from 
the  poor  Copiapoins. 

Almagro  and  his  Spanish  troops  ^ere  tx'eated 
with  great  respect,  and  honored  as  superior  per- 
sonages. He  might  have  easily  conqiiered  the 
whole  of  Chili;  but,  inflated  with  success  and  great 
expectations,  he  became  reckless,  inflicted  upon  the 
people  the  most  wanton  cruelties  and  shameful 
inhumanities,  ^until  the  natives  arose  in  evei-y  di- 
rection to  give  him  battle. 


14  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

Finally,  after  having  overcome  all  obstacles  in 
the  north,  he  advanced  to  the  Cachapoal  river, 
across  which  was  the  territory  of  the  desperate 
dwellers  in  the  south.  His  army,  reduced,  disap- 
pointed in  not  finding  great  quantities  of  gold, 
weary  and  discouraged,  besought  him  to  give  up 
further  conquests. 

Their  entreaties  were  in  vain.  Almagro,  dash- 
ing across  the  river,  was  met  in  desperate  battle. 
The  natives,  overcoming  the  awe  and  terror  from 
beholding  gaily  equipped  horses  and  hearing  the 
loud  reports  of  the  muskets,  fought  with  daring 
and  generalship  entirely  unexpected.  Under  cover 
of  the  night  the  Spanish  general  withdrew  from 
the  battle-field  and  commenced  a  retreat  to  PerU' 
He  was  afterwards  overthrown  and  beheaded  His 
Spanish  followers  became  desperate  outlaws,  and 
lived  reckless,  daring  lives. 

A  year  or  two  later,  in  1540,  Peter  Valdivia,  un- 
der direction  of  the  wicked  Pizarro,  again  under- 
took the  subjugation  of  Chili.  Without  sustaining 
serious  loss  or  meeting  great  resistance,  he  ad- 
vanced as  far  as  the  river  Atapochia,  where, 
February  12,  1541,  he  founded  the  capital  city  and 
gave  it  its  present  name  of  Santiago,  in  honor  of 
St.  James,  the  patron  saint  of  Spain. 

Valdivia  was  cool,  self-possessed,  courageous, 
prudent,  and   by  great  effort   and  soldierly  exam- 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  15 

pie  succeeded  in  again  subjugating  all  Northern 
Chili — and  this,  too,  not  more  by  his  powder  and 
balls,  than  by  his  having,  in  some  manner,  gained 
the  confidence  of  the  natives. 

After  nine  years  of  toil,  during  which  time  he 
returned  to  I'eru  for  a  new  army,  he  pushed  south- 
ward as  far  as  the  Bay  of  Talcahuano,  where,  in 
October,  1550,  he  founded  the  city  of  Concepcion. 
Here  he  soon  afterwards  met  with  most  serious  op- 
position; for  a  band  of  the  dwellers  in  the  south, 
known  as  Ai'aucanians,  to  the  number  of  several 
thousand,  advanced  across  the  Bio  Bio  river  and 
prepared  to  attack  the  town.  The  over-confident 
Spaniards  met  them  on  the  plain,  where  a  great 
battle  ensued.  Hundreds  fell  on  both  sides.  Val- 
divia's  horse  was  killed  from  under  him,  and  so 
close  was  the  hand-to-hand  encounter  that  the 
S')anish  troops  were  often  thrown  into  great  con- 
fusion, from  which  they  barely  recovered. 

The  Indian  leader,  however,  after  the  battle  had 
been  waging  for  hours  with  doubtful  results,  was 
slain,  and  the  Araucanians,  to  the  great  relief  of 
Valdivia,  withdrew — not  to  remain  in  quiet,  for, 
appointing  a  new  chief,  they  soon  again  appeared 
ready  for  battle.  Great  was  the  confusion  of  the 
Spaniards.  Some  fled  to  the  waters,  others  to  the 
forts;  some  prayed  aloud,  some  of  the  feeble 
fainted,  and  the  soldiers  prepared  themselves  for 


16  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

battle  by  taking  the  sacrament  of  bread  and  wa- 
ter. 

Onward  marched  the  Indians,  and  Valdivia  de- 
termined to  give  battle  unto  death.  But  all  at 
once  the  Araucanians  withdrew,  without  any  one, 
being  able  to  comprehend  the  object  of  such  a 
movement.  But  a  soldier,  declaring  that  he  had 
seen  St.  James  seated  upon  a  white  palfry,  the  de- 
livery was  attributed  by  many  to  divine  interposi- 
tion. 

Two  years  later  Valdivia,  at  the  head  of  an  army, 
marched  into  the  Araucanians'  territory  without 
meeting  any  great  resistance,  and  founded  the  city 
of  Valdivia  and  La  Villa  Rica— the  rich  city.  .In 
1553  he  founded  four  otner  cities.  But  the  Ar- 
aucanians, in  the  meatatime,  had  elected  a  chief  to 
supersede  their  cowardly  leader,  and  soon  appeared 
before  a  newly  erected  fort,  Arauco.  So  closely 
did  they  besiege  it  that  the  occupants,  exhausted, 
concluded  to  abandon  the  post,  after  which  the  In- 
dians razed  it  to  the  ground. 

Valdivia  again  went  forth  in  person  to  give  bat- 
tle— met  the  Indians  near  the  reduced  fort  and 
engaged  them  in  a  desperate  encounter.  After 
many  hours  of  hard  fighting  the  Araucanians  fled 
and  the  now  bloodthirsty  Spaniards  followed  in 
close  pursuit;  but,  at  this  juncture,  a  young  Indian 
boy  whom  Valdivia  had  captured  and  reared  as  his 


PAST     AND    PRE8ENT.  17 

servant,  named  Lautaro,  rushed  among  his  fleeing 
countrymen  and  exhorted  them  to  once  more  stand 
and  give  battle,  assuring  them  that  the  troops  un- 
der his  deserted  master  were  spent,  exhausted  com- 
pletely, but  few  in  number,  and  that  one  final 
effort  would  overthrow  them.  His  efforts  were 
availing,  after  much  entreaty,  and  the  Indians, 
rallying:,  fell  upon  the  Spaniards.  Great  was  the 
carnage.  Valdivia  was  captured,  and  though  he 
plead  for  his  life  and  made  many  promises  to  leave 
the  Country  forever,  with  all  his  followers,  if  only  re- 
leased, he  was  put  to  death.  Only  one  or  two  out 
of  his  proud  army  were  left  to  tell  the  tale. 

The  youthful  Lautaro,  a  lad  of  only  eighteen 
summers,  was,  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  a 
council  of  wise  men  assembled,  elected  to  share  the 
honors  of  assistant  ruler-in-chief  of  the  Araucanian 
nation.  The  honors  were  well  conferred;  for  this 
boy  chief,  with  lofty  aspirations,  at  once  com- 
menced a  series  of  manoeuvers,  the  outcome  of 
which,  as  he  planned  it,  was  nothing  short  of  rid- 
ding the  whole  land  of  Chili  of  her  Spanish  in- 
vaders. He  met  Valdivia' s  successor,  and  in  fear- 
ful battle,  with  six  pieces  of  artillery  mowing 
down  his  brave  men,  with  the  musketry  and  fierce 
horsemen  to  contend  with,  he  displayed  such  gen- 
eralship as  to  outwit  the  Spaniards  and  put  them 
to  rout  with  fearful  slaughter,  so  that   none   were 


18  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

left  but  their  leader  and  a  handful  of  men.  He 
appeared  before  Concepcion,  burned  it  to  the 
ground,  and  feasted  over  its  smoking  ruins.  Em- 
boldened by  his  success,  he  formed  a  plan  of 
striking  a  deathblow  by  attacking  the  great  Spanish 
stronghold  at  Santiago. 

With  this  end  in  view,  he  marched  at  the  head 
of  a  selected  army  toward  the  capital  city.  On  the 
way  he  passed  through  the  country  of  the  Puru- 
mancians,  a  tribe  of  Indians  who  were  the  enemy 
of  his  nation,  reduced  them  by  laying  waste  their 
territory,  burning  their  villages  and  destroying 
their  crops.  For  this,  however,  he  suffered  defeat 
and  death;  for,  instead  of  pushing  on  to  the  attack 
of  Santiago,  he  fortified  himself  on  his  enemies' 
stronghold  and  prepared  to  reconnoiter.  This  was 
his  fatal  blunder. 

The  Spaniards  were  no  less  astonished  at  this 
bold  adventure  than  they  were  tremulous  as  to  the 
result.  The  Governor,  who,  as  Valdivia's  success- 
or, had  met  this  Lautaro,  and  suffered  such  signal 
defeat  at  his  hands,  well  knew  that  the  task  before 
him  needed  all  his  cunning,  as  well  as  the  combined 
strength  of  his  forces.  The  city  was  at  once  for- 
tified, and  all  the  public  roads  and  avenues  of  ap- 
proach doubly  secured.  Then,  as  Lautaro  did 
not  appear,  a  company  of  horsemen  were  sent  to 
reconnoiter.     These  were  attacked  and  almost  de- 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  19 

stroyed.  A  second  detachment  suffered  the  same 
fate;  for,  allowing  themselves  to  be  led  into  the 
Indians'  intrenchments  through  a  decoy  that  pre- 
tended flight,  they  were  cut  to  pieces.  Still  a 
third  army  shared  the  some  fate. 

The  Governor,  Villa  Grau,  now  determined  to 
conduct  the  war  in  person,  for  which  purpose  he 
selected  an  army  of  twelve  hundred  men,  and  set 
out  for  Lautaro's  camp.  Thi'ough  the  aid  of  a 
spy  he  reached  it  without  being  detected,  and  as 
the  day  dawned,  and  the  watchful  Araucanians 
had  ceased  their  vigilance,  he  made  the  attack. 
The  surprise  was  very  great,  and  Lautaro,  at  the 
head  of  his  men,  was  the  first  to  fall.  But  the  In- 
dians, undaunted,  continued  to  fight.  They 
courted  death.  In  vain  did  the  Governor  call  up- 
on them  to  surrender.  They  would  not  survive 
the  death  of  their  cherished  boy-leader,  and  crowd- 
ing around  his  bleeding  body,  they  fought  desper- 
ately until  the  last  man  was  dead  or  dying.  Not 
one  remained. 

This  boy-general,  an  unlearned  barbarian,  dis- 
played such  rare  skill  in  his  military  exploits  that 
even  his  enemies  sought  to  honor  his  memory,  and 
some  have  lauded  him  as  one  of  the  foremost  com- 
manders of  antiquity. 

After  this  battle  the  Marquis  of  Canete  was  sent 
from    Peru    to    rebuild  the   city  of    Concepcion. 


20  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

Scarcely  had  he  landed  when  the  Araucanians, 
again  assuming  the  aggressive,  gave  battle;  but, 
wanting  the  generalship  of  Lautaro,  they  were  de 
feated.  Canete,  with  a  superior  army,  soon  took 
up  the  march  into  the  Indians'  territory.  Every- 
thing that  came  within  his  reach  was  destroyed. 
Some  prisoners  falling  into  his  hands,  he  mutil- 
ated terribly  and  set  them  free.  Some  were 
emasculated;  some  had  their  ears,  some  their 
noses,  some  a  hand,  severed  from  their  bodies 
Others  had  their  e3'es  put  out;  but  these  cruelties, 
instead  of  intimidating  the  natives,  only  incited 
them  to  greater  hatred. 

When  Canete  reached  the  City  of  Imperial,  which 
had  withstood  the  Araucanians,  an  attempt  was 
made  to  capture  the  town  and  his  army  by  strata- 
gem. A  pretender  had  met  an  Indian  spy  who 
was  appointed  to  find  out  the  secrets  of  the  fort, 
and  agreed  to  admit  the  Araucaniau  warriors 
through  the  gates  the  following  day  at  noon,  when 
he  claimed  the  Spaniards  would  all  be  enjoying 
their  naps.  The  appointed  time  found  the  natives 
with  noiseless  tread  creeping  into  the  town;  the 
gates  were  opened  as  agreed  upon;  the  Spanish 
soldiers  were  everywhere  lying  upon  the  ground 
feigning  slumber.  When  a  large  number  of  the  In- 
dians were  well  within  the  fort  the  gates  suddenly 
closed.    A  murderous  fire  at  once  commenced  from 


PAST    AND    PBE8ENT.  21 

the  pretended  sleepers,  and  none  of  the  captives 
escaped.  Some  who  were  taken  alive  had  their 
heads  severed  from  their  bodies  and  displayed  on 
tops  of  poles  extending  over  the  fort.  Others  were 
killed  by  piecemeal,  and  still  others  blown  to 
pieces  from  the  cannon's  mouth. 

In  a  battle  that  followed  soon  after,  Caupolican, 
the  Araucanian  general — for  such  he  was — with  a 
host  of  warriors  were  defeated,  and  he  himself 
taken  prisoner.  He  was  instructed  in  the  religion 
of  Rome,  baptized,  received  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  sentenced  to  be  killed  with  a 
sharpened  stake.  His  successor  had  various  en- 
counters with  the  Spanish  for  six  years,  when  he 
was  slain  and  his  army  nearly  all  massacred. 
Thirty  years  of  warfare  followed,  without  any  de- 
cided results. 

A  nephew  of  the  founder  of  the  Jesuitical  order 
was,  in  1594,  made  Governor  of  Concepcion.  His 
name  was  Senor  D  Martin  de  Loyola.  His  first 
thought  was  to  establish  friendly  relations  with  the 
invincible  Araucanians,  and  to  this  end  he  met  them 
in  council.  No  terms,  however,  were  agreed  upon, 
and  hostilities  were  renewed  with  great  vigor. 

Martin  gave  his  atteniion  to  the  founding  of  new 
settlements,  and  to  the  improvement  of  the  old. 
Every  post  was  so  well  fortified  that  they  success- 
fully  baffled  the  attacks  of   Indians.      For   four 


22  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

years  the  progress  of  the  colonies  and  settlements 
was  all  that  could  be  desired.  The  Grovernor  was 
here,  there  and  everywhere.  His  success  caused 
him  to  be  incautious;  and,  becoming  emboldened, 
he,  on  one  of  his  journeys  through  the  enemy's 
country,  camped  on  the  open  plain,  without  neces- 
sary precautions  against  attacks.  The  bold  Arau- 
canians,  ever  on  the  alert,  had  been  stealing  si- 
lently in  his  footsteps  all  day. 

No  sooner  had  Loyola  and  his  band  retired  for 
the  night  than  the  Indians,  falling  upon  them, 
massacred  the  whole  number.  This  was  a  signal 
for  a  general  attack — a  bold  stroke — whereby  it 
was  hoped  the  Spaniards  might  be  driven  from 
the  country.  Concepcion  and  Chilian  were  plun- 
dered and  burned.  With  immense  booty  for  sup- 
plies, other  places  were  besieged  and  in  turn  were 
either  abandoned  or  overthrown.  The  battle  was 
for  life.  In  vain  did  the  Spaniards  redouble  their 
energies.  In  vain  were  their  musketry,  their 
horses,  their  cannons.  In  vain  were  their  barbar- 
ous cruelties  to  captives.  In  vain  were  their  su- 
perior knowledge  of  the  arts  of  war  and  their  civ- 
ilization. One  hundred  and  eighty  years  of  war- 
fare— it  had  lasted  that  long — was  not  enough  to 
conquer  and  subdue  those  invincible  Indians.  One 
hundred  and  eighty  years!  No,  nor  a  thousand; 
for  nothing  would  ever  have  conquered  such  hero- 


PAST  AND  PRESENT.  23 

ic  spirits  but  complete  extermination.  Their  only 
crime  was  their  zeal;  their  only  fault  a  love  for 
their  country.  Finally,  the  Spaniards,  tired  of  so 
much  warfare,  vexed  and  chagrined  at  their  losses 
and -continued  embarrassments,  allowed  judgment 
and  humanity  to  prevail,  and  granted  unto  the 
Araucanians  their  independence  ;  and  in  a  treaty, 
fixed  and  defined  the  boundaries  of  their  territo- 
ry. This  was  in  1724 — one  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine  years  after  Almagro  undertook  the  conquest 
of  Chili. 


CHAPTKR    III. 

The  Darkness  of  the  Colonial  Days — Spanish  Intolerance  ^nd 
Bigotry  Deeply  Eooted  in  all  the  Colonies — Communica- 
tioa  with  the  World  Forbidden — A  Governor  Condemned  to 
Death  for  Allowing  an  American  Vessel  to  Anchor  and  make 
Needed  Repairs — An  English  Captain  Decoyed  on  Shore, 
and  Murdered  for  his  Rich  Cargo,  by  an  Official  of  High 
Rank — Re  igious  Intolerance — The  Important  Ecclesissti- 
cal  Question  of  Bangs  Worn  by  the  Clergy — Five  Years  of 
Legislation  upon  the  Importance  of  the  President's  Dress 
upon  Great  Occasions. 

T|T  is  almost  impossible  to  imagine  the  condition 
J^  of  darkness  that  existed  in  this  country  prior 
^^  to  the  independence  from  the  mother  country, 
Spain.  Instead  of  what  we  see  to  day  of  advance- 
ment, of  education,  of  commerce,  of  culture,  of 
freedom  of  thought  and  overflow  of  literature, 
there  was  an  undeveloped  population  of  less 
than  three-fourths  of  a  million  of  as  ignorant  and 
superstitious  people  as  any  Spanish  monarch  and 
his  court  of  advisers  could  desire.  In  the  eai'ly 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  not  a  newspaper, 
not  a  book  had  ever  been  published  in  all  the 
land.  The  same  spirit  of  intolerance  and  bigotry 
that  had  characterized  Spain  since  the  days  of 
Charles  V. — that  spirit  that  had  sent  an   Alva,  a 


•  PAST    AND    PRESENT.  25 

Don  John  of  Austria,  and  a  Prince  of  Parma,  with 
an  army  of  butchers,  into  the  Netherlands  to  hang, 
burn,  drown  and  skin  alive  a  half  million  of  inno- 
cent people  whose  only  crime  was  a  desire  to  think 
as  they  pleased,  and  to  worship  a  living  God  in- 
stead of  bowing  to  dumb  idols — had  tiken  deep 
root  in  all  of  the  Spanish  colonies  in  America.  All 
the  ports  were  closed  against  vessels  of  every  de- 
scription, excepting  the  war  boats  from  Spain.  Ig- 
norance and  vice  reigned  in  triumph.  There  were 
no  schools;  there  was  no  freedom,  no  communica- 
tion with  the  outside  world — nothing,  excepting  a 
few  thousand  mestizoes  and  Creoles,  whose  only 
duty  was  to  be  obedient  and  give  a  liberal  supply 
of  gold  and  silver  to  the  "mother  country." 

Any  attempt  to  communicate  or  traffic  with  for- 
eign nations  met  with  severe  piinishment.  Diuing 
the  latter  portion  of  the  eighteenth  century  an 
American  vessel  sought  refuge  in  one  of  the  (Jhilian 
ports,  in  order  to  make  some  needed  repairs  and 
secure  a  supply  of  fresh  water.  Communication  was 
most  difficult;  but  when  their  wants  were  made 
known,  the  Cpatain,*  with  fourmen.jwas  permitted 
to  land,  under  the  most  exact  insjiection  and  the 
guns  of  the  battery— the  governor  of  the  port  hav- 
ing satisfied  himself  that  they  had  nothing  for  trade, 

*From  a  lecture  on  ''Constitutional  History  of  Chili,''  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Trumbull,  of  Valparaiso. 


26  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

and  having  taken  every  precaution  that  they  might 
not  ascertain  the  condition  of  the  country.  For 
having  practiced  even  this  small  act  of  humanity, 
the  governor  was  an-aigned  by  Ambrose  O'Hig- 
gins,  father  of  the  great  patriot  of  later  years,  and 
the  crown  lawyer  condemned  him  to  death.  Shortly 
after  this,  two  other  American  vessels  entered  the 
harbor  of  Coquimbo,  seeking  nothing  but  supplies 
for  the  crews;  but  they  were  ordered  to  leave  with- 
out being  allowed  any  succor  whatever.  Still  a  few 
years  later,  an  English  captain,  emboldened  by  the 
prospect  of  great  gain,  anchored  his  vessel  in  a 
Chilian  port  with  a  cargo  valued  at  $400,000.  He 
succeeded  in  selling  a  few  thousand  dollars'  worth, 
when  it  was  suggested  to  him  by  some  tradesmen 
that  he  could  do  better  in  a  port  farther  south  Sail- 
ing thither,  he  was  met  by  a  government  official  of 
high  rank,  who  invited  the  unsuspecting  ca^Dtain 
and  his  officers  on  shore  to  attend  a  feast  given  in 
their  honor.  While  seated  at  the  supper-table,  they 
wez'e  set  upon  by  a  band  of  solders  and  all  mur- 
dered, the  rich  cargo  being  divided  among  the  cap- 
tors. 

"Incidentally  it  folUows,  from  what  has  just  been 
said,  that  dissent  from  the  Roman  Church  was  not 
to  be  permitted  or  even  for  a  moment  thought  of. 
Infidel  opinions,  or  even  heterodox  Christian  views, 
were  maligned,  outlawed,  branded  as  intolerable. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  27 

excluded  by  the  severest  edicts,  and  put  under  the 

ban  civilly  as  well  as  ecclesiastically.  In  this,  as 
well  as  in  almost  all  things  else,  the  will  of  the 
King's  majesty  was  made  supreme.  All  were  to  obey 
his  mandates,  and  against  his  decrees  no  individual 
rights  could  be  asserted. 

"To  give  an  idea,"  continues  the  same  author, 
Mr.  Trumbull,  "of  the  scholarship  of  the  Church,  a 
celebrated  bishop  in  the  capital  once  published,  in 
a  formal  treatise  of  thirty-six  folio  pages,  double 
columns,  his  views  on  the  magnitudinous  question 
of  hair  worn  by  the  clergy.  The  fashion  of  'the 
world'  was  to  wear  what  were  then  called  in  Span- 
ish, quedeja^,  corresponding  to  a  modern  term,  mel. 
anas,  answering,  apparently,  from  the  description,  to 
our  present  English  word  'fringes'  or  'bangs.'  Such 
importance  was  attached  to  this  matter,  that  an- 
other bishoj)  in  Lima  had  alleged  that  his  clergy 
were  imitating  women ;  he  also  complained  that  they 
parted  their  hair  down  the  middle;  and  frowning 
upon  both  forms  of  wickedness,  first  forbade  jDres- 
byters  to  use  ([aedejiiH,  under  pain  of  the  greater  ex- 
communication, and  next,  deacons  and  sub-deacons, 
under  penalty  of  ten  days'  imprisonment,  with  a 
warning  that  they  must  expect  no  further  ordina- 
tion to  higher  grades  of  the  jDriesthood,  since,  by 
these  gaities  in  imitating  women's  fashions,  they 
showed  themselves  unworthy  of  advancement;  and. 


28  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

inasmuch  as  they  manifested  the  wish  to  be  taken 
for  women,  they  therefore  ought  to  be  treated  as 
such  in  exclusion  from  the  ministry, 

"Returning  now  to  Chili,  the  prelate  of  Santiago 
spoke  to  the  following  efl'ect  on  this  crowning  theme : 
'Some  people,'  said  he,  'have  their  hair  divided  into 
two  locks,  madejas,  falling  over  their  ears — quede- 
jas,  we  call  them.  Some  frizzle  them,  some  curl 
them.  Women  raise  on  the  forehead  an  elevation 
which,  I  know  not  with  what  allusion,  they  call 
pepino — a  cucumber  —  and  this  adornment  the  clergy 
imitate,  allowing  their  locks  to  grow  over  the  eyes 
in  a  frizzle,  which  they  thrust  aside  or  arrange  with 
the  fingers  a  thousand  times  a  day,  calling  them 
pedradas — flings.  To  escape  this  trouble  some  go 
to  the  barber,  who,  heating  small  tongs,  called 
curling-irons,  secures  the  tuftsin  their  places.  This 
devilish  abuse  has  come  into  vogue  among  ecclesi- 
astics. My  clergy,  however,  with  a  little  eflbrt  on 
my  part,  have  been  thoroughly  reformed,  for  the 
people  of  Chili  are  modest  by  nature.  If  those  who 
come  to  be  ordained  have  not  taken  the  jDrecaution 
to  reform  their  hair,  I  myself  save  the  barber  all 
trouble  by  making  the  work  of  tonsure  thorough. 
There  is  in  this  city  a  young  man,  well-born,  rich, 
known  to  be  virtuous,  but  intensely  ill-favored,  and 
yet  he  is  so  superstitiously  in  love  with  his  hair 
that  his  locks,  quedejas,  being  spread  over  his  ill- 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  29 

favored  countenance,  produce,  not  the  portrait  of  a 
fury,  but  the  original  of  one.  lie  uses  the  clerical 
habit,  desiring  much  to  be  ordained,  but  the  fear  of 
the  bishop's  shears  keeps  him  back.  He  has  sought 
to  secure  indemnity  for  his  hair.  A  gentleman,  his 
relative,  spoke  to  me  at  aperiod  of  ordination,  earn- 
estly asking  me  to  ordain  him  and  allow  him  to  pre- 
serve his  hair;  yet  I  did  not  care  to  consent  to  the  ar- 
rangement, and  to  this  hour  he  has  neither  been 
ordained,  nor  laid  aside  his  clerical  habit,  nor  re- 
formed his  curls.'  " 

This  may  give  an  idea  of  the  matters  with  which 
theologians  in  the  colonial  period  sometimes,  to  say 
the  least,  busied  themselves  and  were  occupied.  In 
order  now  to  take  a  glance  at  political  matters  in 
those  early  days,  here  is  a  question  that  for  five 
years  occupied  the  attention  of  civilians.  The  ' '  Pres- 
ident of  the  Kingdom  of  ChDi,"  as  sometimes  even 
then  he  was  styled,  in  1710  had  attended  service  in 
a  church,  in  honor  of  San  Ignacia,  in  comjmny 
with  the  grand  Audiencia,  a  council,  wearing  only 
his  military  uniform.  This  gave  ofience  to  the  coun- 
cilors, who  claimed  that  he  ought  to  come  with 
them  to  the  church,  not  in  uniform,  but  en  gotilla, 
which  meant  with  a  lace  ruff  around  his  throat,  used 
in  high  dress.  The  punctilious  question  was  ap- 
pealed to  Madrid,  laid  before  the  Council  of  the 
Indies  and  his  Spanish  majesty,  and,  after  fifteen 


30  CIVIMZATION   IN   CHTLI. 

months'  time  had  elapsed,  the  reply  of  the  most 
Christian  monarch  came,  to  the  effect  that  the  Pres- 
ident might  do  just  as  he  pleased,  appearing  on  all 
warlike  occasions  in  uniform,  but  on  other  occa- 
sions in  the  costume  of  either  a  soldier  or  a  citizen. 
With  this  the  Audencia  were  not  satisfied,  but  sent 
back  to  Madrid  another  epistle,  asking  finally,  if 
the  President  were  not  commanded  on  grand  occa- 
sions to  appear  wearing  the  ruff  about  his  throat, 
that  the  King  would  give  orders  for  them  not  to 
keep  his  company.  Three  yeax's  later  still,  came  the 
King's  final  reply,  to  the  effect  that  the  President 
might  attend  all  public  ceremonies  in  his  uniform, 
and  that  this  order  must  be  carried  out  under  peril 
of  the  royal  displeasure,  and  of  severity  to  be  used 
against  any  one  who  should  dare  to  resist. 

All  this  may  seem  very  trifling  and  not  worthy  to 
be  recorded,  but  if  the  reader  will  remember  that 
it  is  the  history,  and  that,  too,  of  some  of  the  most 
important  measures  of  a  colony  destined  in  after 
years  to  become  the  foremost  nation  on  a  great  con- 
tinent, he  will  readily  see  that  this  short  chapter 
will  serve  as  an  index  to  the  civilization,  not  only 
of  the  long  centuries  of  colonial  days  of  Chili,  but 
of  all  the  American  colonies  belonging  to  Spain. 


CHAPXKR   IV. 

The  Usurpation  of  the  Spanish  Throne  by  the  French  Em. 
peror  Napoleon  in  Consequence  of  a  Civil  War — Its  Effect 
upon  the  Spanish  Colonies  in  America — The  Death  of  the 
Viceroy  of  Chili  Favorable  to  Revolution— Arrest  of  the 
Leading  Rebels — Abdication  of  the  new  Viceroy — A  Mass 
Meeting  at  Santiago  Organize  a  New  Government — The 
First  Constitution  of  the  Republic — Bernardo  O'Higgins- 
Patriot  Soldiers  Overthrown — Battle  of  Chacabuco — Dec- 
laration of  Indepenednce — Abdication  of  O'Higgins — The 
New  Government — No  Slaves  in  Chili — A  Poor  Constitu- 
tion— Torrents  of  Blood — Assassination  of  President  Por- 
tales — Order  out  of  Confusion— Rapid  Strides  of  the 
Republic. 

r^^URING  the  first  years  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
Ij  tury,  the  King  of  Spain,  Charles  IV, ,  became 
~  involved  in  a  bitter  quarrel  with  his  natural 
son  and  heii',  Prince  Fernando,  in  consequence  of 
the  elevation  of  Don  Manuel  Godoi,  a  person  of 
inferior  rank,  to  the  important  position  of  Piince 
of  Peace  and  First  Minister  of  Spain  and  the  In- 
dies. The  agitation  increased  till  it  assumed  the 
form  of  a  civil  war.  The  Emperor,  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte, who  had  long  desii"ed  to  carry  his  conquests 
into  Spanish  territor}^  seized  the  opj)ortunity  to 
oiler  himself  as  mediator  between  father  and  son. 
He  was  sly  and  cunning  enough  to  insinuate  him- 


32  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

\ 

self  into  tiie  good  offices  of  both  parties,  and,  under 
pretext  of  reducing  Portugal,  introduced  an  army 
of  French  solders,  and  placed  his  brother  Joseph 
upon  the  Spanish  throne. 

Scarcely  was  this  usurpation  known  to  the  Span- 
ish colonies  of  America,  when  they  commenced  a 
vigorous  uprising  against  their  Spanish  viceroys 
and  governors,  under  the  pretext  of  holding  the 
countries  for  their  natural  sovereign,  Fernando 
VII. 

The  governor  or  viceroy  of  Chili,  at  this  junc- 
ture having  been  removed  by  death,  General  Car- 
rasco,  who  had  distinguished  himself  as  a  military 
officer,  was  appointed  in  his  stead.  This  proved  to 
be  very  favorable  to  the  people;  for  the  Audiencia, 
a  local  body  appointed  by  the  king  to  watch  over 
the  actions  of  the  viceroys,  were  furious  at  the  ap- 
pointment, on  account  of  the  inferior  birth  of 
Carrasco.  From  the  very  commencement  of  his 
administration  he  had  great  trouble  with  tbis  royal 
Audiencia,  and  through  his  inability  he  soon  became 
entangled  in  a  bitter  war  of  words  with  the  priests, 
the  city  governors  and  the  people.  In  the  midst  of 
these  dissensions,  the  revolutionary  ideas  propa- 
gated themselves,  almost  unjDerceived  and  unheed- 
ed, until  Carrasco,  suddenly  awaking  to  a  sense  of 
his  danger,  determined  to  put  an  end  to  these 
intrigues.     On  the  25th  of  May,  1810,  he  aiTested 


PAST    AND    PRESENT,  33 

and  imprisoned  three  of  the  leading  dissenters. 
This  caused  intense  excitement.  A  convocation  of 
the  leading  personages  of  Valparaiso  sent  a  depu- 
tation to  the  viceroy  requesting  the  prisoners' 
release,  offering  to  give  bonds  for  their  future 
conduct.  After  some  delay,  Carrasco  promised 
compliance;  but  instead  of  fulfilling  his  promise, 
he  secretly  ordered  the  prisoners'  removal  to  the 
capital  city  of  Peru.  When  the  news  of  this  du- 
plicity reached  Valparaiso,  it  created  a  furious  storm 
of  indignation.  The  people  appealed  to  the  Audi- 
envia,  v^ho,  desiring  nothing  better  than  a  chance 
to  show  their  opposition  to  the  despised  governor, 
ordered  the  prisoners  released.  This  greatly  en- 
couraged the  revolutionists,  who  proceeded  shortly 
after  to  call  a  national  consultation,  or  mass 
meeting  of  the  eminent  people  of  the  whole  country. 
This  meeting  took  place  on  the  16th  of  July,  and 
as  a  conciliatory  measure  it  was  agreed  that  Car- 
rasco should  abdicate  in  favor  of  Brigadier  Matthew 
Zambrano,  a  native  of  Sj^ain. 

The  new  governor  was  over  eighty  years  of  age, 
feeble  and  childish,  without  influence  or  power, 
and  soon  became  a  prey  to  both  parties.  The  rev- 
olutionists became  more  clamorous  and  bolder  than 
ever,  and  succeeded  a  few  days  later  in  appointing 
two  young  lawyers  to  help  the  viceroy  shape  the 
aftairs  of  state;  then,  making  along  stride,  a  con- 


34  CTVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

vocation  of  all  the  people  was  announced  to  take 
place  in  Santiago,  "in  order  to  secure  public  tran- 
quility." This  meeting  took  place  on  tha  18th  of 
September,  at  which  it  was  determined,  almost 
without  opposition,  to  withdraw  from  the  then 
existing  government  in  Spain,  "in  order  to  hold 
the  country,"  as  they  declared,  "for  its  lawful 
monarch."  The  loyal  manifestations,  however,  for 
the  "lawful  monarch"  did  not  prevent  the  revolu- 
tionists from  proceeding  forthwith,  the  same  day, 
to  organize  a  Republic,  by  electing  Zambrano  tem- 
porary president,  Joseph  Antonia  Martines,  vice- 
president,  and  also  by  preparing  for  the  election 
and  assembling  of  a  National  Congress. 

It  now  became  necessary  for  this  germ  of  a  new 
nation  to  have  a  Constitution,  and  in  accordance 
with  the  wishes  of  the  people,  one  Don  John  Egana 
was  requested  to  prepare,  and  did  write  out,  "A 
Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  the  People  of  Chili." 

This  first  Constitution  was  prepared  in  the  year 
1810,  but  during  the  following  year  the  author 
greatly  modified  it,  in  accordance  with  the  wishes 
and  instructions  of  an  assembled  Congress. 

In  1812  an  agreement  was  framed  between  the 
provinces  of  Santiago  and  Goncepcion,  and  in  1813 
a  Constitution  was  formally  published  by  the  na- 
tional government.  These  all  were  incipient  at- 
tempts, not  by  any  means  in  the  highest  degree 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  35 

successful,  for  while  on  the  one  hand  there  was 
war  waged  against  the  patriots  by  Spain,  the 
patriots  were  not  harm  )nious  and  of  one  mind 
among  themselves.  In  fact.,  their  divisions  were 
perfectly  lamentable,  and  their  jealousies  intermin- 
able; j^roceeding  in  one  instance  even  to  a  pitched 
battle  between  the  troops  led  by  Carrera  and  those 
commanded  by  Bernardo  O'Higgins,  who  was  a  son 
of  Ambrosia  O'Higgins,  already  mentioned,  of  the 
year  1789.  The  national  cause  was  jeopardized  and 
so  weakened  that,  in  1814,  the  Spanish  general  gave 
them  a  crushing  defeat,  altogether  routing,  scatter- 
ing and  destroying  the  patriot  forces.  For  four 
years  after  th  it,  there  was  no  constitution-making; 
the  national  cause  seemed  to  be  utterly  lost.  The 
best  men  were  in  prison  in  Juan  Fernandez,  or 
wandering  as  fugitives  in  foreign  lands.  Some, 
however,  did  not  lose  heart  in  the  good  cause. 
Even  those  who  had  been  rivals  and  ruined  it,  clung 
to  it  still  with  unflinching  fidelity,  and,  fina  ly, 
with  the  aid  of  the  La  Platte  provinces,  gathered  a 
new  army,  crossed  the  Andes  over  precipices  and 
through  snow,  and  meeting  the  King's  forces  on 
the  .  lains  of  Chacabuco,  February  12th,  1817,  won 
a  victory  that  put  the  patriot  cause  high  again  m 
the  ascendant.  Still  the  struggle  had  to  be  main- 
tained against  the  Spaniards  until  the  fifth  of 
April,  1818,  when  the   Chilians  inflicted  on  them 


36  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

defeat  that  proved  final.  Then  the  domination  of 
the  Most  Christian  King  was  ended,  bi-oken  to  rise 
no  more,  and  on  the  Diez-y-ocho,  18th  of  Septem- 
ber of  that  year,  the  anniversary  of  the  first  step 
that  had  been  taken  toward  self-government  in 
1810,  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  was  official- 
ly proclaimed  to  the  world.  On  the  23d  of 
October  a  new  and  complete  constitution  was  sol- 
emnly signed  and  sworn  to  as  the  organic  law  of 
the  land.  O'Higgins,  their  successful  leader,  was 
in  power,  almost  a  dictator,  although  the  country 
under  him  was  extremely  restless  and  unsettled. 
Five  years  afterwards,  at  the  beginning  of  1823, 
Jan.  28th,  he  in  consequence  abdicated.  Whatever 
may  have  been  his  personal  merits,  and  great,  un- 
questionably, as  the  public  services  of  this  eminent 
man  had  been  during  the  war,  yet  it  seems  that  the 
best  citizens  of  the  time  consented  to,  if  they  did 
not  demand  and  insist  on,  his  withdrawal  from  the 
presidency.  Considering  how  he  had  liberated  his 
country,  the  language  he  employed  in  resign- 
ing the  supreme  power  he  had  held  for  six  years, 
does  him  great  honor.  "Believing,"  said  he, 
"  that  it  may  contribute  to  the  tranquility  of  my 
country,  under  present  circumstances,  that  I  should 
lay  down  the  supreme  command  of  the  State,  and 
having  agreed  on  this  with  the  people  of  Santiago 
assembled,  who  in  the  present  crisis  were  all  with 


PAST    AND   PBESENT.  37 

whom  I  could  consult,  I  have  come  to  abdicate, 
and  do  abdicate,  entrusting  the  supreme  direction 
of  Chili  provisionally  to  Junta  Guhernativa."  He 
named  thereupon,  as  a  triumvirate,  Messrs.  Ezrazu- 
riz,  Infante,  and  EizaguiiTe;  and  then  the  govern- 
ment, which  had  been  uni-personal  in  him,  became 
multi-personal  in  them.  There  were  three  prov- 
inces— Concepcion,  Coquimbo  and  Santiago;  but 
the  two  former  provinces  being  dissatisfied  with 
the  triumvirate,  General  Freire  was  next  named 
by  their  three  respective  plenipotentiaries  to  be 
the  Sui^reme  Director  of  the  whole  countiy.  The 
point  then  aimed  at  being  the  unification  of  the 
provinces,  the  very  first  declaration  made  subse- 
quently was  to  this  effect:  "  The  Chilian  State  is 
one  and  indivisible,  directed  by  one  sole  govern- 
ment and  one  sole  legislature."  Now,  again,  Don 
Juan  Egana's  erudition,  skill  and  patient  labor 
were  brought  into  requisition;  and  a  convention 
being  called,  a  more  successful  attempt  ended  in 
the  constitution  of  1823,  which  somehow,  although 
the  nation  accepted  it,  they  never  liked.  Public 
power  was  vested,  first,  in  a  Supreme  Director; 
second,  in  a  senate  of  nine  members;  third,  in  a 
National  Chamber,  something  over  fifty  members; 
fourth,  in  provincial  Assemblies,  with  powers  of 
censure,  supervision  and  local  legislation;  and 
fifth  and  finally,  in  a  Judiciary,  comprising  a  court 


38  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

of  Conciliation,  another  courb  of  Appeals,  and  a 
Supreme  Court.  Although  a  benevolent  spirit  of 
civic  virtue  pervaded  thi^  constitution,  it  fell  into 
the  error  of  attempting  to  govern  too  much.  One 
most  obnoxious  clause  specified  that  "  every  citi- 
zen must  be  a  Roman  Catholic,  unless  exempt  by 
special  vote  of  the  Legislature."  It  contained, 
however,  another  more  valuable  clause:  "  In  Chili 
there  are  no  slaves;  he  who  treads  the  soil  for  one 
natural  day  shall  be  free.  Any  one  engaged  in  the 
slave  trade  may  not  reside  here  more  than  one  month, 
and  never  can  become  naturalized ."  All  born  in  the 
country  were  Chilians,  as  well  as  those  born  abroad 
of  Chilian  parents;  foreigners  residing  here  mar- 
ried to  Chilenos,  domieilated  according  to  the  laws 
and  exercising  a  i^rofession  or  calling;  and  also 
foreigners  married  with  foreigners,  (after  a  year  s 
residence)  having  legal  domicile  and  means  of 
living. 

This  Constitution,  as  intimated,  did  not  satisfy, 
and  in  1825  was  set  aside.  General  Freire  re- 
signed, alleging  that  it  was  not  possible  to  govern 
with  a  constitution  which  the  people  resisted.  The 
Senate  opposed  him  in  asking  for  its  abrogation; 
but  a  popular  uprising  in  Santiago,  July  24,  1825, 
made  Freire  Dictator,  when  he  abolished  the  con- 
stitution altogether.  A  series  of  ineffectual  at- 
tempts to  reorganize  followed,  lasting  through  the 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  39 

next  three  years.  Eeforms  were  proposed,  resolu- 
tions were  made,  a  confederation  of  the  provinces 
was  attempted.  Some  desired  more  freedom  in  re- 
ligion; some,  thinking:  there  was  too  much,  desired 
less;  and  finally,  in  1828,  a  new  constitution  was 
l^romulgated,  in  the  time  of  Vice  President  Pinto, 
father  of  the  recent  President  of  that  name,  who 
said  on  presen'ing  it  to  the  na'ion:  "The  day  for 
consolidating-  our  liberty  has  arrived.  It  cannot 
exist  without  organic  laws.  Now  we  have  them. 
They  are  not  the  product  of  force,  but  of  reason 
The  times  have  gone  by  in  which  fortune  con- 
demned us  to  blind  obedience  to  unlimited  power. 
The  laws  among  us  are  now  compacts,  that  rest  on 
the  free  use  of  our  prerogatives.  This  Constitu- 
tion ensures  to  the  holy  religion  you  profess  an  ef- 
ficient protection,  placing  it  at  the  front  of  all  our 
institutions;  while  it  establishes  the  most  formid- 
able guarantees  against  the  abuse  of  an}"^  authority, 
against  all  excess  in  the  use  of  power.  *  *  * 
The  provinces  will  not  longer  fluctuate  between 
dangerous  turbulence  and  unlimited  dependence 
on  the  Government." 

This  Constitution  did  not,  however,  give  peace; 
on  the  contrary,  torrents  of  blood  followed  in  civil 
war,  and  then  it  was  re-cinded.  Its  j^rovisions,  it 
was  alleged,  were  ambiguous;  the  suffrage  too 
widely  extended;  too  frequent  elections  also  were 


40  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

complained  of,  and  that  officials  in  provinces  could 
too  easily  resist  the  supreme  Government.  All 
may  be  summed  up  in  a  word :  It  was  felt  that  a 
stronger  central  power  must  be  had  to  control  the 
nation,  maintain  justice  in  it,  and  develoj)  its 
strength.  Parties  took  up  arms.  On  the  seven- 
teenth of  April,  1830,  the  battle  of  Lircai  was 
fought,  after  which  the  victorious  General  Prieto 
was  named  provincial  President  of  the  Republic, 
and  a  new  code  immediately  drafted,  being  still 
really  "that  of  1828,  with  reforms  and  additions." 
This  is  the  Constitution  promulgated  in  1833,  un- 
der which,  from  that  day  till  now,  the  country  has 
made  most  gratifying  progress;  not,  however,  with- 
out conflict,  for  two  wasting  though  unsuccessful 
civil  wars  have  occurred  in  the  interval — one  in  '51 
and  the  other  in  '59 — not  to  mention  the  attempt  at 
revolution  in  1837,  when  Don  Diego  Portales,  the 
head  of  the  Cabinet  and  moving  spirit  of  the  ad- 
ministration, lost  his  life,  treacherously  assassin- 
ated by  the  soldiery  of  Valparaiso. 

The  general  sentiment  now  is  that  much  is  due 
to  this  energetic,  far-seeing,  prompt  and  patriotic 
citizen.  My  own  impression  has  been  that  his 
methods  were  arbitrary;  but  when  we  remember 
that  he  arranged  to  p  ly  the  debts  owed  to  the  na- 
tions of  Europe,  that  he  introduced  order  into  the 
public  offices  and  courts    of    la-vy,   and    that   he 


past3  and  presekt.  41 

brought  order  out  of  chaos  during  those  important 
years  between  1830  and  '37,  which  were  the  form- 
ative period  of  the  Republic's  life,  we  cannot  go 
amiss  in  thinking  that  he  well  deserves  the  esteem 
in  which  thousands  hold  his  memory,  and  the 
statue  that  has  been  erected  to  his  memory,  stand- 
ing to-day  in  front  of  the  palace  of  the  Moneda  in 
Santiago. 

This  brings  us  near  to  our  own  time;  and  I  think 
that  it  may  be  fairly  judged  that  an  organic  law, 
under  which  during  fifty  years  a  nation  has  doubled 
its  population,  augmented  eight-fold  its  commerce 
with  the  world,  widened  its  sphere  of  individual 
and  associated  freedom,  maintained  well  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice,  grown  into  the  respect  of 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  waged  successfully  three 
foreign  and  put  down  two  civil  wars,  merits  being 
considered  a  success,  so  that  to-day  it  does  honor 
to  the  forethought,  justice  and  patriotism  of  those 
who  in  1830  framed  it. 


CHAPTKR  V. 

Physical  Disabilities — Indian  Blood — Lack  of  Democracy — 
E^idences  of  Superiority — Early  Impressions  Concerning 
the  Country — Good  and  Bad  Manners— The  Typical  Rich 
Man — The  Effect  of  Politeness — Untruthfulness — Educa,- 
tion  of  the  Ladies — The  Middle  Classes — The  Independent 
Poor  Man — His  Condition,  Dress  and  Minner  of  Living — 
Washerwomen— The  Cause  of  Poverty — The  Number  who 
can  Read  and  Write — Dignified  Politicians — Chili  an  Ex- 
ception to  the  other  Nations  of  South  America — Murders 
in  Panama— Pern imbuco — Obedience  to  Law — The  Ceme- 
tery Bill — Interference  of  Women — Death  of  a  Bishop — 
The  Greatest  Nation. 

^HEN  we  for  a  moment  consider  the  physi- 
l§ll%  cal  disabilities  alone   with   which  Chili  is 
beset,  we  can  but  conclude  that  it  is  inhab- 
ited by  no  ordinary  people. 

In  every  direction  nature  has  erected  barriers 
almost  impassable,  thus  separating  it  from  all  other 
nations  of  the  world — shutting  out  the  civilization 
of  the  enlightened  and  friendly,  and  forming  a 
wall  of  defense  against  those  seeking  to  do  her 
harm. 

The  great  wilderness  of  Patagonia  is  on  the 
south,  with  its  rugged  mountains,  steep  slopes, 
perpetual  rains,  and  impenetrable  forests  near  the 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  43 

coast;  while  farther  up  in  the  Cordilleras,  piercing 
blasts  sweep  almost  incessantly,  and  snow,  sleet 
and  rain  prevail  during  the  entire  year. 

On  the  north  is  the  rainless,  lifeless  desert,  known 
as  Atacama,  whose  lon^  stretch  of  barren,  sandy 
plains,  with  the  heat  of  an  almost  tropical  clime, 
reader  j^enetration  an  impossibility.  On  the  east 
are  the  snow-capped  Andes,  whii;h  can  be  crossed 
only  in  summer  months,  and  that,  too,  by  moun- 
tain passes  of  perilous  heights.  And  on  the  west 
are  the  great  wastes  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  whose 
thoroughfares  were  long  far  remote  from  those  of 
the  civilized  world. 

Besides  being  thus  excluded  from  the  civilzing 
influences  of  the  world,  Chili  inherited  at  her  birth 
a  condition  of  religious  dirkness,  of  its  If  a  usurper 
of  power,  an  enemy  to  progression,  and  a  breeder 
of  dissensions  and  immoralities.  The  independent 
nation  of  Araucanian  Indians  have,  by  intermarriage, 
disseminated  their  blood,  as  well  as  their  slovenly 
habits,  among  the  lower  clashes  largely  throughout 
the  nation.  Again,  the  political  constitution  de- 
prives the  poor  and  ignorant  of  the  right  of  suf- 
frage, making  it  the  least  democratic  of  all  the 
republics  in  the  world.  But,  notwithstanding  all 
these  unfavorable  conditioas,  while  other  neigh- 
boring nations  of  kindred  race,  far  more  favored 
in  their  natural  surroundings,  have  languished  iu 


44  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

darkness,  Chili,  gradually  overcoming  the  obstacles 
besetting  her,  has  gained  for  herself  no  mean  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  foremost  and  most  enlightened 
nation  in  all  South  America,  t'chool-houses  for 
the  education  of  the  masses  are  supported  in  every 
town  and  village.  The  printing  press  is  an  educa- 
tor, doing  its  work  without  molestation  or  inter- 
ference, and  railroad  and  telegraphic  communica- 
tions connect  all  the  principal  seaports  and  cities. 
Before  I  took  up  my  abode  among  these  people  I 
received  an  impression  that  the  Chilians  were  about 
half  civilized,  wretched  fellows,  poorly  dressed, 
with  no  refinement,  and  but  little  education.  This 
impression  was  very  incorrect,  and  again,  correct; 
for  there  is  such  a  variety  of  character  in  this  land, 
and  so  many  conditions  of  existence,  that  they  are 
both  civilized  and  uncivilized;  they  are  educated 
and  unedcated;  they  are  polite  and  impolite;  they 
are  well  dressed  and  poorly  dressed;  they  are 
very  rich  and  very  poor;  in  fact,  they  are  anything, 
they  are  everything,  they  are  nothing.  They  live  in 
beautiful  houses,  grandly  and  richly  furnished  with 
everything  convenient  and  luxurious,  or  they  live  in 
dirt  hovels,  and  eat  clams,  fish  and  boiled  beans  for 
a  principal  diet.  But  running  through  all  classes  of 
society  is  to  be  seen  one  national  characteristic — a 
quick,  sensational,  emotional  nature,  that  makes 
the  Chilino  soldier  a  dreadful  foe,  and  the  Chilino 


TYPICAL  CHILIANS  OF  THE  BETTER  CLASS. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  45 

gentleman  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  what  he 
deems  right. 

The  typical  rich  man,  young  and  old,  dresses 
every  day  in  beautiful  costume;  his  clothes  are 
never  soiled  or  threadbare  in  the  least;  his  hair  is 
always  neatly  combed;  bis  shirt-cufts,  beautiful 
and  white,  extend  just  so  far  down  on  his  hand  to 
exactness.  He  studies  jDoliteness  and  perfection 
of  manners;  he  will  hold  his  slender  cane  daintily 
in  his  hand,  tip  his  silk  hat,  bow  gracefully  and 
low,  aud  give  you  a  hearty  shake  of  the  hand  as 
often  as  he  meets  you.  If  you  call  on  him,  he  will 
assure  you  that  everything  he  has  is  yours — his 
house,  himself,  and  family  and  servants  are  all  at 
your  disj)osal.  His  wife,  often  beautiful,  aud  al- 
ways beautifully  dressed,  will  smile  thiough  two 
or  three  coats  of  paint,  and  assure  you  that  in  meet- 
ing you  she  is  happier  than  ever  before. 

And  still  many  of  these  people  are  very  impolite. 
They  will  often  criticise  you  in  your  absence;  and 
a  gentleman,  at  a  public  dinner,  in  your  own  par- 
lor, or  wherever  you  chance  to  meet,  will  pufif  to- 
bacco smoke  in  your  wife's  face  by  the  hour. 

The  great  politeness  of  the  rich  has  two  notice- 
able eflects  upon  the  nation:  First,  it  induces  all 
the  middle  and  lower  classes  to  be  polite  also,  and 
to  carry  with  them  a  certain  polish  that  is  pleasing 
and  commendable.     The  servants  are  very  polite j 


46  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

and  the  commonest,  poorest,  dirtiest  boy  or  girl, 
half-clad,  who  carries  on  his  head  a  basket  of  fruit, 
and  bawls,  in  a  painful  monotone,  "Quiere  com- 
prar  duraznos  ?" — "Do  you  want  to  buy  some  peach- 
es ?" — would  not  think  of  entering  the  hall  or  open 
court  of  your  house  without  removing  the  load  from 
his  head  and  making  a  graceful  bow.  And  again, 
these  lower  classes  are  very  vulgar.  They  do  not 
hesiiate,  if  curiosity  is  at  all  aroused,  to  peer  into 
your  parlor  windows,  flattening  their  noses  against 
he  glass  and  staring  at  you  in  a  very  interesting 
but  distressing  manner;  and  they  do  not  hesitate 
to  attend  to  nature's  calls,  committing  shameful 
outrages  in  the  streets,  often  disgracefully  exposing 
themselves  to  the  eyes  of  the  refined  and  cultured 
passer-by. 

The  second  effect  is,  the  people  as  a  whole  learn 
to  have  but  little  regard  for  truth.  They  do  not 
seem  to  consider  lying  harmful,  but  regard  it  in 
the  light  of  innocent  amusement.  Call  an  American 
a  liar,  and  you  offer  him  the  greatest  insult;  call  a 
Chilino  a  liar,  and  he  merely  shrugs  his  shoulders, 
as  though  it  were  of  minor  importance.  I  have  met 
many  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  culture,  who  are  ex- 
ceptions to  this  rule,  but  they  are  decidedly  excep 
tions,  and  the  rule  holds  well. 

Perhaps  this  condition  of  untruthfulness  is  not 
entirely  attributable  to  the  over-politeness  of  the 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  47 

rich,  but  it  certainly  is  founded  there.  The  desire 
to  please  and  appear  to  be  pleased  leads  to  so  much 
flattery  that  truth  thereby  is  ignored.  A.  gain,  the 
whole  fabric  of  social  life  is  so  constructed  as  to 
augment  these  conditions  The  ladies  have  com- 
pleted their  education  when  they  have  become 
proficient  in  music  and  fancy-work,  and  know  how 
to  read  and  write  well.  History,  literature,  mathe- 
matics and  the  sciences  form  no  part  of  their  men- 
tal make-up.  Their  reading  generally  consists  of 
sensational  novels;  and,  as  they  are  not  educated 
to  assume  any  great  responsibility  in  the  house- 
hold or  nursery,  life  is  relieved  of  the  wholesome 
joys  derived  from  labor,  and  thus  becomes  monot- 
onous. As  the  mind  must  have  occupation,  it  seeks 
it  in  the  lower  channels  of  social  gossip.  So  it 
happens  that  the  fair  lady  who  is  so  seemingly 
delighted  in  your  presence  will  measure  you,  not 
so  much  by  the  amount  of  your  brain  as  by  the 
condition  of  your  finger-nails;  should  these  be  out  of 
order,  be  assured  that,  when  you  are  gone,  you  will 
be  a  subject  of  remark  with  the  next  neighbor,  and 
will  not  be  pronounced  genteel. 

The  typical  man  occupying  a  lower  social  con- 
dition is  very  like  his  neighbor  in  higher  life.  He 
may  have  nothing  in  his  home,  but  still,  in  his 
manner  and  as  far  as  possible  in  his  dress,  he  is 
like  the  rich  man. 


48  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

But  the  poor  man  of  Chili  is  an  entirely  different 
being,  with  a  different  individuality,  peculiar  to 
himself.  He  has  no  relations  with  his  rich  neigh- 
bor other  than  to  serve  him  and  regard  him  as  a 
great  personage.  He  makes  no  attempt  to  ape  him 
in  dress;  on  the  contrary,  he  wears  a  slouch  hat,  a 
pair  of  dirty  pants  rolled  up  at  the  bottom,  and 
something  that  might  be  called  a  shirt.  If  the 
weather  is  wai'm,  he  is  bare-footed;  if  cold,  and  he 
can  afford  them,  he  clatterslaround  in  a  pair  of 
clogs  with  wood  soles  an  inch  thick;  if  he  cannot 
afford  them,  he  goes  with  bare  feet  winter  and  sum- 
mer. In  winter  he  wears  a  heavy  blanket  over  his 
shoulders,  with  a  slit  in  the  middle  through  which 
he  puts  his  head. 

His  wants  are  very  few;  he  is  content  to  live  in 
a  dirt  hovel,  with  earthen  floor,  but  little  light,  and 
in  a  condition  of  misery  and  filth  that  invites  dis- 
ease and  death.  His  furniture  consists  of  a  broken 
chair,  a  box,  a  rude  bed,  and  his  wife  prepares  his 
meals  over  a  kettle  of  coals  in  their  one  room. 

The  typical  poor  man  in  Chili  is  patient,  slow 
and  slovenly.  He  brings  up  his  sons  and  daugh- 
ters without  education,  and  they  have  no  more 
hopeful  outlook  than  to  go  to  service  in  the  rich 
man's  house.  Happy  indeed  is  the  young  rustic 
who  can  become  servant  to  a  gentleman  who  pays 
him  the  meager  salary  of  eight  dollars  per  month, 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  49 

and  his  food  from  the  refuse  of  the  table.  The 
daughter  can  go  to  service  as  cook  at  a  salary 
ranging  from  three  dollars  to  ten  dollars  per  month, 
or  as  chambermaid  or  body-servant  at  less  rates. 
The  wife  will  cany  around  on  her  head  a  basket  of 
fruit,  which  she  peddles  from  door  to  door,  or, 
seeking  some  favorite  street  corner,  patiently  awaits 
her  customers,  content  with  a  profit  of  a  few  pen- 
nies for  each  day's  labor. 

Women  may  seek  other  avocations.  They  may, 
perhaps,  if  the  husband  or  father  has  had  sufficient 
finigalty,  drive  for  him  his  yoke  of  oxen  hitched  by 
the  head  to  a  lumbering  cart,  and  sell  for  him  wood 
prepared  for  the  stove,  or  the  farm  produce. 

But  the  greatest  of  all  drudgery  is  borne  by  the 
poor  washer-woman.  How  they  live  God  alone 
knows.  It  makes  the  tender  heart  bleed  to  see 
these  humble  creatures,  with  a  poor  excuse  for  a 
dress  pinned  high  around  the  waist,  standing  ankle 
deep  in  the  cold  water  of  the  rivers,  pounding  the 
dirt  from  the  clothes.  Water  is  never  heated  in 
Chili  for  washing  purposes;  neither  is  soap  used 
extensively.  The  woman  or  young  girl  with  a  large 
bundle  of  clotheson  her  head  to  be  cleansed,  seeks 
a  favored  spot  on  the  banks  of  a  running  stream 
where  there  is  a]  projecting  rock,  and  there,  stand- 
ing in  water  almost  ice  cold,  she  moistens  the  gar- 
ments one  at  a  time,  and  laying  them  upon  the  rock 


50  CIVILIZATION   m   CHILI. 

pounds  the  dirt  from  them  with  a  clvib  or  wooden 
paddle.  I  never  saw  whiter  lin^n  than  is  found  in 
Chili;  and  for  a  while  it  was  a  mystery,  until  I 
learned  that  from  three  to  four  days  are  required  to 
do  an  ordinary  family  washing.  The  clothes  are 
wet  and  jDOunded  and  bleached,  over  and  over, 
again  and  again,  until  they  are  not  only  clean,  but 
clear  and  white.  I  have  seen  these  poor  women 
dining  the  cold  winter  months,  when  the  chilly, 
penetrating  rains  would  drench  their  garments 
through,  and  when  I  was  compelled  to  dress  in 
flannels  and  overcoat,  standing  with  feet  and 
ankles  bare  in  the  cold  stream,  six  or  seven  hours 
every  day  in  the  week.  Still,  they  seem  to  be  con- 
tented with  their  lot. 

The  condition  of  the  poor  is  terrible.  Everything 
is  comparatively  expensive  but  muscle,  which  is  of 
but  little  value.  A  suit  of  clothes  for  a  man  costs 
from  forty -five  to  one  hundred  dollars.  A  pair  of 
shoes  are  worth  from  six  to  Bfteen  dollars,  and 
breadstuff  is  very  high — far  beyond  the  means  of 
the  ordinary  laborer,  compelling  him  to  live  on  the 
coarsest  and  plainest  of  food. 

Besides  this  condition  of  poverty,  a  large  portion 
of  the  people  can  neither  read  nor  write.  Accord- 
ing to  the  last  census  there  were  382,575  persons 
who  could  read,  415,893  who  could  read  and  write, 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  51 

and  1,177,502  who  could  do  neither.  The  latter 
are  all  of  the  poorer  classes. 

This,  however,  is  no  fault  of  the  General  Govern- 
ment. The  appropriation  made  by  Congress,  in 
the  year  1882,  for  educational  purposes,  amounted 
to  almost  one  and  a  half  million  of  dollars,  or 
about  seventy-five  cents  for  every  man,  woman 
and  child  in  the  nation.  There  are  also  public 
libraries,  and  many  schools  established  purposely 
for  the  poor.  The  Government  is  even  making  ar- 
rangements whereby  education  can  be  brought 
within  reach  of  a  lai'ge  body  of  the  Araucanian 
Indians  occupying  the  beautiful  territory  bearing 
their  name. 

Nor  is  it,  in  my  judgment,  any  fault  of  Govern- 
ment that  the  poor  people  are  in  such  a  deplorable 
condition  of  poverty  and  distress.  All  kinds  of 
farm  produce  bring  extravagant  prices:  a  good  fat 
pig  is  worth  from  ihu'ty  to  fifty  dollars;  eggs  are 
never  worth  less  than  forty  cents  a  dozen;  butter 
is  always  worth  fifty  cents  a  pound — and  these 
prices  do  not  change  materially. 

I  have  no  theory  that  would  account  for  the  pov- 
erty of  the  poor,  other  than  it  is  due  to  their  natural 
indolence;  they  seem  to  be,  as  a  rule,  conten'ed, 
and  to  desire  nothing  better.  In  fact,  I  strongly 
suspect  that  they  have  inherited  much  of  the  In- 
dian's characteristics  of  slovenliness  and  indisposi- 


62  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

tion  to  work,  and  that  they  are  therefore  contented 
to  live  a  miserable  hand-to-mouth  existence. 

This  theory  is  well  supported  by  the  fact  that  in 
times  of  war  the  Chilina  soldier — who,  excepting 
the  officers,  is  always  of  the  lower  class — is  as  in- 
flammable as  tinder.  The  great  army  is  composed 
of  the  very  lowest  scum  of  society;  but  their  quick 
resolution,  their  fearless  determination,  make  them 
terrible  in  times  of  battle.  In  the  war  with  Peru 
and  Bolivia,  everything  was  carried  by  storm  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet,  in  a  hand-to-hand  encounter. 
Who  could  resist  them  ?  What  body  of  men  could 
stand  before  them  ? 

The  typical  Chilina  politician  is  always  a  man  of 
dignity  and  wealth,  and  I  believe,  as  a  rule,  is 
tolerably  free  from  the  intrigue  and  rascality  so 
common  in  those  seeking  office. 

So  much  cannot  be  said  of  all  South  American 
countries.  Personal  observations  made  in  the 
United  States  of  Colombia  lead  me  to  believe  that 
the  average  politician  of  that  republic  is  a  man  of 
no  great  moral  character.  All  society  is  in  a  ter- 
rible condition;  marriage  laws  are  disregarded,  and 
a  system  of  concubinage  seems  to  be  in  vogue.  A 
man  who  has  a  little  money  lives  almost  beyond 
the  control  of  any  law  the  legislative  body  may 
enact.  In  Panama,  in  the  year  1882,  a  woman, 
somewhat  noted  for  her  beauty,   quit  her  lawful 


PAST   AND    PRBSENT.  63 

husband  and  took  up  her  abode  with  a  rich  neigh- 
bor, living  as  his  wife.  In  a  short  time,  however, 
she  repented  and  returned  to  her  first  love;  where- 
upon the  rich  neighbor  employed  a  "native,"  for 
the  sum  of  two  dollars,  to  murder  the  favored  hus- 
band. It  was  to  be  no  half-way  affair,  as  the  con- 
tract required  the  head  to  be  entirely  severed  from 
the  body.  The  "native"  did  not  seek  to  cover  his 
crime  by  the  darkness  of  night,  but  went  at  it,  busi- 
ness-like, in  the  day  time .  He  called  upon  his  vic- 
tim, ate  breakfast  with  him,  invited  hira  into  the 
front  yard,  slew  him,  cut  off  his  head,  and  killed  an- 
other man  who  tried  to  interfere.  The  murderer  was 
arrested,  but  upon  the  payment  of  thirty-seven  dol- 
lars to  the  government  officials  by  his  employer,  he 
was  set  at  liberty  and  stood  ready  for  another  job. 

In  Peru,  law  apparently  has  only  been  obeyed 
when  it  has  suited  the  convenience  of  the  rich  man 
to  obey  it.  In  fact,  the  average  citizen  of  that  ill- 
fated  country  seems  only  to  have  lived  to  plunder 
his  government.  "As  rich  as  Peru,"  has  become  an 
adage;  but,  while  it  is  immensely  rich  in  natural 
resources,  it  is  also  very  rich  in  rottenness. 

In  Pernambuco,  Brazil,  in  the  year  1883,  the 
leading  daily  newspaper  criticised  the  police  of 
that  town  very  severely  for  taking  a  well-dressed 
man  a  prisoner  and  marching  him  through  the 
streets.     The  complaint  was    that  the  man  was 


54  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

dressed  as  a  gentleman,  and  that  such  treatment 
belonged  only  to  the  lower  classes. 

But  the  Chilina  politician,  being  a  thorough  pa- 
triot, enacts  only  such  laws  as  he  hopes  will  be' 
obeyed  and  as  he  believes  will  be  for  the  welfare 
of  the  Reijublic. 

After  the  famous  cemetery  bill,  compelling  the 
authorities  (the  jjriests  had  always  had  charge  of 
the  cemeteries,  and  collected  a  death  tax  of  eight 
dollars  on  every  person  who  died,  but  refused  Pro- 
testants the  right  of  burial)  to  permit  the  burial  of 
Protestants  in  public  cemeteries,  had  passed  both 
houses  of  Congress  and  was  awaiting  the  signature 
of  the  President  to  become  a  law,  that  gentleman 
was  visited  by  a  delegation  of  three  hundred  of  the 
wealthiest,  most  influential  ladies  in  the  state,  re- 
questing him  to  veto  the  bill. 

They  were  the  wives  of  senators  and  churchmen 
of  great  standing,  and^  the  reported  value  of  the 
jewels  they  wore  upon  the  occasio  i  was  a  million  of 
dollars.  The  President  received  them  with  great 
courtesy,  but  the  bill  was  duly  signed  and  became 
a  law. 

Of  such  importance  was  this  cemetery  bill,  that 
upon  its  passage  being  heralded  over  the  land,  the 
Bishop  of  Concepcion,  the  most  influential  Jesuit 
in  all  South  America,  and  a  man  of  powerful  phy- 
sique, fell  dead  from  the  shock.  The  wealthy  Cath- 


PAST   AND    PRESENT.  55 

olics,  moreover,  commenced  a  wholesale  removal 
of  their  dead,  to  bury  them  in  churches,  and  in 
private  houses,  but  were  stopped  short  by  the 
prompt  enactment  of  another  law  maldug  it  a  crime 
to  remove  the  dead  without  sufficient  cause. 

This  political  energy  and  discriminating  wisdom 
has  made  of  Chili  the  most  intelligent  nation  in  all 
South  America.  Small,  but  wonderfully  energetic, 
she  is,  one  by  one,  lopping  o£f  the  dead  limbs  of 
superstition  and  ignorance  inherited  at  her  birth, 
and  is  marching  forward  with  rapid  strides  to 
write  her  name  high  among  the  list  of  civilized 
nations  in  the  world. 


CHAPTKR  VI. 

Gold  Horseshoes  —  Rich  Wheatfields  —  Araucanians  —  Large 
Women — A  Wonderful  Miracle — Pehuenchea,  Llanistas, 
CastinoB — A  Visit  to  the  Llanistas — A  Chief  and  our  Re- 
ception— Skulls  for  Drinking  Vessels — Fighting  in  the 
Clouds — A  Spirit  Volcano — Bumblebee  Heaven — A  Present 
— Resurrection  of  the  Dead— Child-birth— Early  Education 
— The  Devil  as  a  School  Master — Public  Speakers — Witch- 
craft and  Witch  Doctors— Great  Surgical  Operation- 
Sleight  of  Hand — Big  Medicine  Men — House  Raising  and 
Feaiting— Foot  Ball— Justice— The  Blcod  of  the  Lamb 
and  its  Signification. 

sHEN  Valdivia  desired  to  recruit  his  army, 
while  attempting  to  overthrow  the  dusky 
^  f  Araucanians,  he  shod  his  favorite  mare 
with  shoes  made  of  pure  gold,  driven  on  with  head- 
less nails,  and  appeared  thus  before  the  Peruvians. 
The  nest  day,  while  racing  for  a  high  wager  against 
a  horse  owned  by  one  of  the  princes  of  the  country, 
the  golden  shoes,  as  Valdivia  expected,  were  left 
on  the  race  course.  When  the  common  people 
gathered  them  up  and  took  them  to  their  owner, 
eipecting  to  be  handsomely  rewarded,  he  said: 
".Keep  them,  my  countiymen;  in  the  land  of  Chili, 
whither  I  shall  soon  return,  riches  are  to  be  had 
for  the  gathering.    There  gold  and   silver  are  but 


PAST   AKD   PRESENT.  57 

little  valued;  here  they  will  serve  to  make  you 
comfortable."  A  great  army  accompanied  him  on 
his  return. 

"Winding  around  the  Bio-Bio,  and  emerging  into 
the  great  plain  of  the  Veragara  river,  I  was  led  to 
believe  that  Valdivia's  statement  was  almost  the 
truth — "  Riches  are  to  be  had  for  the  gathering." 
As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  were  great  fields  of 
grain.  Such  grain !  Golden  fields  of  ripened  wheat 
were  being  harvested  that  would  yield  from  thirty 
to  forty  bushels  per  acre.  The  land  is  immensely 
rich,  and  but  little  cultivation  is  required.  Who 
are  those  dusky  men  and  maidens  that  wield  the 
reap-hook,  bind  the  gathered  grain  into  bundles, 
and  pause  anon  to  wipe  the  gatnered  sweat  from 
their  brows  ?  They  are  Araucanians.  Civilization 
has  conquered  them,  and  they  form  a  great  body 
of  plodding,  patient  laborers,  who  work  for  a  mere 
pittance,  and  help  make  this  a  land  where  riches 
are  gathered  easily. 

Yes,  we  are  in  Araucania.  When  the  Spaniards 
gave  them — the  Araucanians — their  independence, 
a  great  law  was  enacted  by  the  wise  men  which 
punished  any  Indian  with  death  who  would  be 
guilty  of  selling  his  lands  to  the  white  man.  Even 
thirty  years  ago  any  one  was  considered  venture- 
some to  travel  in  this  country.  But  now  it  is  all 
owned  by  men  who,  if  they  are  not  white,  would 


58  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

be  greatly  insulted  to  be  called  anything  else,  and 
who  are  intelligent  enough  to  reap  great  riches 
and  to  have  happy  homes. 

How  fat  and  stalwart  those  dusky  maidens! 
What  broad  shoulders,  great  fat  arms,  immense 
bosoms  and  broad  sides!  No  wonder  they  can 
work;  no  wonder  they  can  bear  children  as  easily 
as  the  animals  of  the  forest;  no  wonder  that  the 
wife,  when  the  husband  gets  drunk  and  unruly, 
can  take  the  lash  and  flog  him  into  submission,  as 
I  have  often  seen  done! 

But  when  I  look  into  their  faces,  and  see  the 
sweat  streaming  down,  leaving  lines  and  furrows 
washed  out  through  the  dirt,  I  am  inclined  to  be- 
lieve Diegoss'  story  of  the  Virgin  Mary  having 
thrown  dust  in  their  eyes.  He  solemnly  records  it 
as  a  matter  of  history,  that,  during  one  of  the 
many  battles  of  Concepcion,  when  the  fighting  In 
dians  were  suddenly  reinforced  by  an  addition  of 
forty  thousand  warriors,  and  the  Sjjaniards  were 
almost  overcome,  the  Virgin  suddenly  appeared  on 
a  beautiful  white  horse  with  fiery  nostrils,  and  or- 
dered the  Indians  to  desist.  Awed  for  a  moment 
by  her  great  beauty  and  the  terrible  light  of  her 
eyes,  they  suddenly  recovered,  determined  to  take 
her  captive,  and  complete  their  work  of  destruction. 
But  the  Virgin,  having  great  compassion  for  them, 
did  no  further  harm  than  to   seize   a  handful   of 


Photo,  by  Dlez  y  Spencer,  Santiago. 

ARAUCANIAN  CHIEF  AND  HIS  FAMILY. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  59 

dust  and  sprinkle  it  in  their  eyes,  whereupon  they 
all  became  blind  and  fled. 

The  Araucauians,  as  they  now  exist,  are  divided 
into  three  tribes — the  Pehuenches,  inhibiting  the 
pine  groves  (Pehuen)  of  the  Andes;  the  Llanistas, 
living  in  the  central  plain  (Llanos);  and  the  Casti- 
nos,  who  have  submitted  to  the  Government  and 
form  the  great  body  of  laborers  of  whom  I  have 
just  spoken.  The  two  former  ti'ibes  are  quite 
warlike,  live  in  entire  independence  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Chili,  and  retain  many  of  the  customs  of 
the  primitive  or  indigenous  people 

Determined  to  visit  the  Llanistas,  who  are  said 
to  be  the  most  independent  and  warlike,  in  com- 
pany with  three  guards,  an  interpreter  and  two 
gentlemen  friends,  I  left  the  military  capital  of 
Angol  on  horseback,  and  proceded  southward  to 
their  territory.  After  traveling  seven  days,  much 
of  the  time  among  the  wilds,  and  during  which, 
sundry  halts  were  made  for  fishing  and  hunting, 
we  came  to  an  Indian  camp. 

Before  we  reached  the  houses,  we  were  met  by  a 
young  Indian  who  had  evidently  been  sent  to 
inquire  who  we  were  and  where  we  belonged.  Our 
interpreter  assured  him  that  we  were  friends;  that 
we  had  written  passports  from  the  great  white 
Governor  of  Concepcion;  and  that  we  had  come  a 
long  way  to  see  the  great  chief  and  his  people. 


60  CIVILIZATION   IN   OHILI. 

The  young  man  told  us  that  we  were  heartily- 
welcome,  and  although  the  chief  lived  farther  down 
the  river,  the  under-chief,  who  was  himself  a  man 
of  valor,  would  be  glad  to  entertain  us .  He  es- 
coiied  us  at  once  to  that  worthy's  house.  A  man 
of  powerful  frame,  an  immense  head,  a  low  but 
broad  and  intelligent  brow,  met  us  at  the  door. 
When  informed  who  we  were,  he  shook  hands  with 
us  all  around,  and  bade  us  enter  his  dwelling.  It 
was  quite  roomy,  contained  three  compartments, 
and  was  made  of  logs  and  mud,  and  thatched  with 
straw. 

As  soon  as  we  entered,  dressed  skins  were  spread 
upon  the  earthen  floor  for  us  to  sit  upon,  and  the 
chief  introduced  his  favorite  squaw,  who  placed 
before  us  horn  cups  of  cider,  taken  from  an  earthen 
vessel.  Before  we  drank,  however,  the  chief,  whose 
name  I  never  could  spell,  but  which  sounded  like 
"Loamqui,"  and  which,  as  we  afterwards  learned, 
meant  "who  is  fat,"  told  our  interpreter  that  his 
squaw  would  drink  first.  This,  he  said,  was  the 
custom  of  his  people  when  anything  was  placed 
before  a  guest  to  drink;  and  it  went  to  show  that 
the  drink  was  not  poisoned. 

The  cider,  which  is  called  "chicha,"  we  all  knew 
well  was  not  unpleasant  to  the  taste;  but  knowing 
that  the  Indians,  big,  little,  old  and  young,  some- 
times perform  an  important  part  in  its  manufacture 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  61 

by  taking  repeated  mouthfuls  of  grain,  chewing  it 
into  pulp  and  spitting  it  in  a  large  vessel  to  fer- 
ment, we  had  a  delicacy  about  accepting  Loamqui's 
treat.  But  our  interpreter  assured  us  that  we 
would  give  great  offense  if  we  refused,  and  himself 
setting  the  example,  we  all  drank  our  horn  cup  of 
cider,  or  all  pretended  that  we  drank  it;  for,  ob- 
serving that  none  were  looking  at  me,  I  poured 
mine  on  the  wooly  sheepskin  on  which  I  sat. 

Loamqui  then  told  us  that  he  had  thirteen  wives, 
twenty-one  ponies,  and  a  large  number  of  sheep. 
He  said  his  people  were  all  very  happy,  as  were  all 
the  tribe  to  which  he  belonged.  They  had  much 
to  eat,  were  at  peace  with  eveiybody,  and  all  had 
good  homes.  The  smallpox  had  raged  among 
them  fearfully,  about  foiu-  years  before,  and  carried 
off  great  numbers;  but  still  the  Llanistas,  he  as- 
sured us,  were  a  great  nation  of  people. 

Some  one  of  oui*  party  then  told  him  that  we  had 
read  with  pleasure  about  the  way  in  which  his  fore- 
fathers had  withstood  the  Spaniards,  and  that  we 
knew  they  must  be  a  very  great  nation  of  warriors 
from  that  fact.  The  chief  seemed  greatly  pleased, 
and  said  something  to  his  favorite  squaw,  who  at 
once  left  the  room,  soon  to  return  with  an  armful 
of  human  skulls.  The  face  part  was  cutaway  from 
each  of  these,  and  some  of  them  looked  very  old, 
and  were  worn  perfectly  smooth. 


62  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

Loamqui  assured  us  that  they  were  the  skulls  of 
men  of  great  rank,  who  had  been  slain  in  battle 
while  fighting  his  people.  Some  of  them,  he  said, 
had  been  handed  down  from  one  generation  to  an- 
other for  a  long  period  of  time,  and  were  used  by 
the  chiefs  and  wise  men  for  drinking  vessels  on 
great  occasions.  The  others  had  been  taken  from 
persons  in  his  own  time,  and  were  used  also  for 
diinking  vessels  during  all  ordinary  feasts. 

Being  anxious  to  learn  all  E  could  about  these 
people,  I  told  our  interpreter  to  ask  Loamqui  if  he 
were  not  afraid  of  some  of  the  slain  coming  bac  to 
reclaim  those  skulls.  He  was  very  certain,  he  said 
in  reply,  that  it  could  not  happen;  for  the  Spaniards 
who  died  were  well  entertained  in  the  clouds  by 
fighting  the  departed  Indians. 

In  reply  to  the  question  whether  all  Indians  go 
to  the  clouds  at  death,  he  said  they  do  not;  only 
the  great  ones  go  there  -those  who  have  been  great 
warriors  and  have  distinguished  themselves  in  ba*:- 
tle.  When  these  departed  braves  are  mad,  their 
friends  on  earth  can  always  tell  it  by  seing  their 
anger  in  the  shape  of  lightning;  and  when  they 
have  a  great  battle  with  then'  enemies,  and  the  en- 
emies are  beaten,  it  is  always  known  by  the  thunder, 
which  is  their  cry  of  distress. 

A  very  great  chief,  who  has  led  his  people  through 
many  successful  battles,  goes  to  a  better  place,  and 


PAST   AND    PRESENT.  63 

is  distingmshed  by  becoming  a  volcano;  when  such 
an  one  gets  mad  he  always  spits  out  much  fire  and 
steam . 

When  a  common  Indian  dies,  he  continued  to 
inform  us,  he  at  once  becomes  a  bumblebee,  which 
has  nothing  to  do  but  to  wander  up  and  down  the 
earth  eating  sweet  things.  The  friends  of  such  de- 
parted never  have  a  feast  but  what  they  put  pome 
chicha,  sugar  and  other  good  things  upon  the  gi-ave 
of  the  depai'ted,  so  that  the  bumblebee  into  which 
he  has  entered  can  have  its  share. 

After  we  had  been  entertained  for  an  hour  or 
more,  we  told  Loamqui  that  if  he  would  excuse  us 
we  would  retire,  pitch  our  tent  for  the  night'  and 
get  our  supj)ers.  He  assured  us  that  he  had  sent 
for  a  young  sheep,  and  that  he  could  serve  us  well 
and  with  much  i^leasure.  But  no  amount  of  per- 
suasion could  induce  us  to  accept  his  hospitality; 
and  after  we  had  made  many  excuses  he  seemed 
satisfied  to  let  us  go;  but  before  retii'ing  we  made 
him  a  present  of  a  new,  red  blanket  and  a  pair  of 
leggings,  to  his  infinite  delight. 
.  On  oiu'  emerging  from  the  house,  to  our  aston- 
ishment our  horses  were  nowhere  to  be  seen,  but 
our  man  John,  the  interpreter,  said  it  was  all  light, 
the  squaws  had  provided  for  them,  and  we  had  best 
make  no  inquiries.  It  was  but  a  few  minutes  till 
our  saddles,  blankets   and  tent  were  all  brought  to 


64  OITILIZATION   IN   OHELI. 

US,  and  before  we  had  things  in  order  to  cook  our 
supper  a  young  squaw  laid  at  our  feet  the  slain 
sheep,  as  a  present  from  the  chief. 

We  had  an  excellent,  refreshing  sleep,  and  in 
the  morning  John  told  us  more  about  the  Arau- 
canians'  religious  belief.  Putting  his  head  out  the 
tent  door,  or  entrance  way,  and  observing  that  it 
was  veiy  cloudy,  he  said : 

"Perhaps  now  we  will  have  a  battle." 

"Why,  John?" 

"Because  it  is  going  to  rain.  If  there  should  be 
a  thunder  storm,  these  Indians  would  all  conclude 
that  a  battle  is  going  on  in  the  clouds,  and  that 
the  Spaniards,  or  other  enemies  with  whom  they 
are  fighting,  are  crying  much,  through  fear  and 
distress,  as  the  chief  said.  I  have  seen  whole  vil- 
lages turn  out  in  the  rain  to  cheer  the  Indians  in 
the  cloud-battle." 

"But,"  he  continued,  "when  the  storm  is  clear- 
ing away  they  have  one  sure  sign,  which  always 
tells  who  has  won  the  battle :  if  the  clouds  move  to- 
ward the  village,  the  Indians  have  been  victorious, 
and  there  is  much  rejoicing;  if  they  move  from  it, 
they  are  certain  that  they  have  been  defeated,  and 
then  they  are  sorrowful." 

"Old  Loamqui  didn't  tell  us,"  he  went  on  to 
say,  "that  the  whole  tribe  of  Castinos  believe  in 
the  resurrection  of  the  body;  but  it's  a  fact,   sir. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  65 

They  believe  that  the  dead  pass  at  once  into  a  hap- 
py hunting  ground  in  the  far  west,  where  each 
Indian  has  a  piece  of  land,  and  all  the  wild  animals 
he  can  slay  and  eat  forever.  When  one  of  that 
tribe  dies  his  favorite  horse  is  slain  to  accompany 
him,  and  all  his  jewels  and  other  trinkets  are  bur- 
ried  with  him  for  his  use  in  the  happy  land.  I 
have  known  them  to  put  food  on  a  grave  every 
night  for  weeks,  and  when  the  wild  animals,  such 
as  foxes  or  wolves,  would  eat  it  during  the  dark- 
ness, the  friends  would  feel  sure  that  the  departed 
had  eaten  it  to   give  him  strength  on  his  journey." 

John  then  went  on  to  tell  us  that  all  these  In- 
dians are  very  superstitious.  Every  dream  is  sup- 
posed to  mean  something,  aod  they  confidently 
look  for  its  fulfillment.  The  singing  of  a  certain 
kind  of  a  bird  is  a  bad  omen  and  augurs  death. 
The  twitching  of  the  muscles  in  the  left  arm  also 
foretells  death;  and  if  it  should  occur  en  route  for 
the  field  of  battle,  the  whole  army  will  turn  back. 
If  they  see  a  fawn  on  the  left  side  of  the  road,  it 
foretells  sickness  or  ill-luck;  on  the  right  side,  as- 
sures long  life  with  plenty  to  eat  and  numerous 
friends. 

After  a  delicious  breakfast  of  savory  meat  from 
the  lamb  supplied  by  Loamqui,  we  strolled  down 
the  banks  of  a  creek  running  close  by,  and  there 
saw  a  woman,  in  a  secluded  spot,  washing  what  we 


66  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

afterwards  learned  was  a  new-born  infant.  We 
also  learned  that  a  woman  in  child-birth  is  com- 
pelled to  flee  to  the  river  or  some  other  place  where 
there  is  water  and  seclusion,  and  there  endure  her 
sorrows  alone.  When  she  starts  on  this  journey, 
she  flings  a  stone  at  the  sun,  if  it  is  shining, 
or  at  the  moon  or  a  bright  star,  if  it  be  in  the  night 
time,  and  says:  "May  my  offspring  be  as  bright  as 
thou  art,  and  may  my  sufferings  be  as  swift  as  the 
flight  of  this  stone." 

As  soon  as  the  child  is  born  she  bathes  it  and 
herself  in  the  cold  water  of  the  creek,  no  matter 
howinc'ement  the  weather,  and  then  returns  to 
her  home.  But  instead  of  finding  friends  she  finds 
the  house  deserted — her  husband  and  all  the  other 
inmates  of  the  family  having  gone  to  a  neighboring 
house.  Even  the  furniture  and  everything  else 
but  a  new  suit  of  clothes  for  the  woman,  and  some 
skins  for  her  to  lie  upon  have  been  removed.  She 
is  compelled  to  remain  there  for  eight  days  alone, 
when  her  friends  return.  The  babe  is  then  named, 
generally  after  some  bird  or  animal,  as  Spotted 
Crow,  Big  Tiger,  or  Great  Bear;  and  the  whole  is 
attended  with  much  ceremony  and  feasting. 

This,  however,  is  hardly  a  commencement  of 
the  new-comer's  career,  and  his  cold  bath  at  the 
creek  upon  whose  banks  he  was  born  is  only  a  hint 
pf  what  he  has  to  endure.    He  is  firmly  bound  to  a 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  67 

board,  so  that  he  can  be  conveniently  set  away  in  a 
corner,  and  his  cold  bath  is  continued  daily  through 
childhood,  without  fire  and  with  but  a  scanty  allow- 
ance of  clothing.  In  his  early  boyhood,  in  order 
to  teach  him  to  endure  hardships,  he  is  compelled 
to  eat  and  sleep  out  of  doors  in  all  kinds  of  weather, 
and  is  never  given  a  mouthful  of  meat.  If  the  boy 
should  become  too  fat  on  his  vegetable  diet  and  his 
life  of  exposure,  the  friends  at  once  give  him  a  trial. 
He  is  sent  on  an  errand  on  which  he  is  required  to 
be  very  fleet;  but  if  he  does  not  run  fast  enough, 
he  is  pursued  by  swift  runners,  who  prick  him  with 
sharp  irons  to  let  the  blood  out,  so  that  he  will  be- 
come lighter  and  run  faster.  He  is  then  denied 
salt,  as  they  believe  it  is  the  salt  that  makes  him 
heavy  and  fat.  If  the  poor  child  dies  during  this 
terrible  exposure,  the  parent  fee's  sure  that  he  has 
become  a  happy  bumble-bee,  and  is  much  better 
satisfied  than  to  have  him  grow  up  a  sickly  Arau- 
canian. 

But  the  Indian  boy  who  thrives  under  such 
harsh  treatment  soon  commences  an  education  for 
his  appearance  in  public.  Strange  that  these  people 
should  believe  in  a  devil  !  but  they  do  believe  in 
one,  and  he  becomes  their  school-teacher,  too  !  I 
asked  Loamqui  one  day,  if  he  believed  the  earth 
had  ever  been  destroyed  by  water,  and  he  assured 
me  that  Cici,  the  great  evil  one,  had  caused  the  sea 


68  CIYILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

to  rise  over  all  the  earth,  as  was  plain  to  be  seen  by 
the  shells  and  bones  found  in  the  high  hills  and 
mountains;  so  1  concluded  that  their  belief  in  the 
devil  was  a  part  of  the  old  tradition  of  the  deluge. 
When  the  boy  is  of  proper  age,  he  is  taken  daily  to 
some  dark  recess,  and  there  the  great  evil  one 
teaches  him  the  art  of  public  speaking.  This  ex- 
ercise is  continued  until  the  boy  has  grown  to  be  a 
young  man,  and  has  learned  how  to  appear  well 
before  an  audience,  and  to  entertain  them  with  a 
fine  flow  of  language. 

But  the  boy's  education  does  not  always  end  with 
this  voice-culture  alone;  for  if  he  is  smart,  andean 
get  the  consent  of  the  wise  men,  he  can  learn  how 
to  cure  witchcraft,  and  also  how  to  detect  it.  All 
sickness,  it  is  believed,  is  due  to  the  witches,  and 
when  a  young  man  becomes  proficient  in  detecting 
the  witch  and  the  poison  she  has  given  to  the  sick 
person,  he  is  given  the  title  of  "medicine  man,"  and 
has  high  honors  among  all  the  people. 

When  a  medicine  man  is  called  to  see  a  sick  per- 
son, as  we  witnessed  on  our  fourth  day  with  Lo- 
amqui,  he  converses  in  a  loud,  grali'  voice  for  a 
long  time  with  the  devil,  calling  upon  him  to  know 
how  to  cure  the  sickness.  Sometimes  the  would-be 
doctor  gets  instructions  to  plant  a  young  tree  in 
front  of  his  patient's  house;  sometimes  he  holds 
religious   services  by  rattling  a  tin  can  containing 


PAST   AND    PEEflENT.  69 

gravel  stones  over  the  sick  man's  body;  and  some- 
times, when  the  affiicte^l  is  rich  in  squaws  and  herds, 
and  the  medicine  man  desires  a  great  fee,  he  per- 
forms a  wonderful  surgical  operation.  Truly,  they 
have  the  cunning  and  sagacity  of  medical  quacks  in 
the  United  States  ! 

The  great  surgical  operation  is  attended  with 
much  ceremony.  The  medicine  man's  attendants 
beat  loudly  upon  a  large  drum-like  instrument, 
rattle  tin  pans  and  old  cast-away  buckets,  and  sing 
in  a  fearful  monotone,  to  drive  away  any  lingering 
witches.  The  medicine  man,  meanwhile,  bending 
over  the  patient,  with  a  blanket  covering  them  both 
so  as  to  shield  them  from  view,  proceeds  to  remove 
his —the  sick  man's — stomach,  heart,  liver  and 
bowels,  in  search  of  the  poison  given  him  by  the 
witches.  After  a  long  search,  he  always  finds  it, 
and  proceeds  to  show  the  astonished  man  and  his 
friends  a  lizard's  tail,  which  is  considered  deadly 
poison,  and  which  he  claims  he  found  secreted  ia 
s  me  of  the  vital  organs  He  calls  upon  the  friends 
to  witness  the  fact  that  although  he  had  just  cut 
him  open,  not  a  tiace  of  it  remains — all  being 
healed  perfectly,  so  that  the  man  is  as  sound  as  he 
was  before,  and  is  entirely  free  from  the  poison  ! 

No  doubt  such  a  ceremony  often  so  stimulates  a 
man  that  a  reaction  takes  place,  and  he  gets  well. 
But,  should  the   patient   die,    the   doctor   always 


70  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

claims'tbat  another  witch  visited  him  after  the  great 
oi^eration  was  performed,  and  caused  him  to  take 
m  re  deadly  poison. 

In  case  of  death,  the  medicine  man  is  called  upon 
to  point  out  the  witch,  who  is  at  once  killed. 

The  devil  teaches  the  doctors  many  skillful  tricks 
in  sleight-of-hand,  such  as  changing  noses  with 
people,  taking  out  the  eyes  and  vital  organs  without 
pain,  and  of  thrusting  a  sharpened  stick  clear 
through  the  stomach  of  any  individual.  The  last 
one  is  said  to  be  performed  in  full  \iew  of  all  the 
people,  much  to  their  astonishment  and  admira- 
tion; and  any  man  who  has  learned  to  perform  it 
is  a  complete  graduate  of  the  devil's  college,  and  is 
a  great  man  in  all  the  nation. 

The  evening  of  our  fourth  day  among  the  Llan- 
istas,  Loamqui  informed  us  that  the  next  day  some 
of  his  relatives  across  the  creek  were  going  to  build 
a  house;  that  he  was  expected  to  attend,  witness 
the  ceremonies,  and  participate  in  the  feast,  and  in- 
vited us  to  accompany  him. 

Accordingly,  the  next  morning,  we  found  our 
horses  awaiting  us,  which  we  soon  saddled  and 
mounted,  and  being  joined  by  the  chief,  started  for 
the  scene  of  house-raising.  The  ride  only  occupied 
about  half  an  hour.  On  our  way  over,  the  chief 
informed  us  that  every  one  who  attended  the  feast 
was  expected  to  contribute  something  to  eat  or  to 


AEAUCANIAN'S    HOME. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  71 

drink,  and,  knowing  that  we  did  not  understand 
the  custom  of  his  peoi^le,  he  had  sent  over  some 
cider  and  a  small  sheep  in  our  name.  We  thanked 
him;  and  one  of  our  party  took  from  his  saddle- 
bags a  half  dozen  strands  of  large,  frosted  glass 
beads,  the  color  of  gold,  and  presented  them  to  him 
for  his  kindness.  He  was  more  pleased  than  d  child 
would  have  been.  He  held  them  up  to  the  light, 
with  his  face  all  aglow  with  satisfaction,  then  put- 
ting them  around  his  neck,  he  galloped  his  horse 
three  or  four  times  around  us  as  we  proceeded  on- 
ward, laughing  in  great  glee  all  the  time.  During 
the  whole  day  he  never  ceased  to  think  of  his 
beads,  and  display  them  to  his  friends.  He  would 
talk  and  laugh  about  any  commonplace  matter,  and 
always  end  by  holding  his  beads  out  from  his  neck 
so  that  he  could  look  down  upon  them,  and  his 
face  would  show  every  expression  of  gratification. 
When  we  had  crossed  the  creek,  we  came  to  a 
beautiful  oj^ening,  free  from  brush  and  young  sap- 
plings,  where  were  situated  five  small  houses,  and 
where  the  sixth  one  was  to  be  erected.  As  soon  as 
we  dismounted,  some  squaws  came  forward  and 
took  charge  of  our  horses.  I  noticed  that  three  or 
four  sheep  were  lying  bound  among  some  vessels 
of  cliicha,  and  some  bags  of  green  roasting  corn, 
and  that  additions  were  made  to  these  as  new 
guests  kept  arriving.      John  assured  us  that  great 


72  CIVIIJZATION   IN   CHILI. 

ceremony  was  observed  iu  handing  in  the  donations 
to  the  feast;  that  the  squaws  in  charge  of  the  arti- 
cles presented  would  always  say:  "My  master  prays 
you  to  accept  a  mere  trifle  as  an  offering  for 
this  great  occasion."  And  that  the  squaw  who  re- 
ceived them  would  always  reply:  "How  very  gen- 
erous!- Indeed,  he  ought  not  to  have  done  so,  as 
nothing  of  the  kind  was  expected." 

Presently  some  squaws  commenced  digging  holes 
in  the  ground,  near  by,  and  we  were  informed  that 
the  ceremonies  had  commenced.  Two  other  young 
squaws  seized  one  of  the  bound  sheep,  laid  it  across 
a  log,  and  while  one  held  it,  the  other  turned  over 
its  head  and  ran  a  knife  into  the  large  vein  behind 
its  ear.  The  sheej)  soon  bled  to  death,  the  blood 
all  being  saved  for  jDudding. 

When  the  squaws  had  finished  digging  the  holes, 
the  cider  was  passed  around  and  the  Indians  all 
drank  very  freely.  In  about  an  hour  afterwards 
some  posts  protruding  far  enough  above  the  ground 
to  form  the  four  corners  of  the  house  were  planted 
in  the  holes.  After  the  lapse  of  another  hour  or 
so,  cross-pieces  wei'e  bound  firmly  to  the  tojis  of 
these  posts,  and  the  raising  was  completed  for  that 
day.  We  were  told  then  by  John  that  it  required 
about  a  week  to  complete  a  house ;  that  the  next 
day  they  would  weave   in  the  small   poles  for  the 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  73 

walls,  on  another  day  put  up  the  rafters,  and  so  on, 
till  it  was  completed. 

Feasting  soon  commenced;  but  prior  to  that  we 
ha  i  persuaded  John  to  ask  Loamqui  and  his  friends 
to  excuse  us — the  three  Americans — telling  him 
that  as  we  had  only  visited  the  great  nation  of 
Llanistas  to  learn  their  ways,  we  could  not  observe 
so  well  if  our  stomachs  were  filled  with  wine  and 
meats.  In  view,  perhaps,  of  the  golden  bead^,  and 
of  the  readiness  with  which  John  and  the  three 
guards  took  hold,  we  were  excused. 

When  the  company  were  all  seated  upon  the 
ground,  some  clams,  jalaced  in  a  wooden  trough 
with  a  large  red  pepper  upon  them,  were  passed 
around.  Every  Indian  took  a  clam,  and  each  one 
gave  the  red  pepper  a  suck  with  his  lipg  and  placed 
it  back.  This,  we  were  informed,  was  a  token  of 
everlasting  friendship. 

When  the  clams  had  all  been  eaten,  great  vessels 
of  cider,  kettles  of  cooked  corn,  and  quantities  of 
raw  mutton  were  placed  before  them.  There  is  no 
poetry  in  being  a  glutton.  Those  fellows  drank 
chiaha,  ate  corn  and  raw  meat  till  they  were  full; 
then  they  rested.  Ate  and  drank,  and  ate  again 
for  two  hours  longer,  till  nature  could  stand  no 
more,  and  most  of  them  were  in  a  heavy,  drunken 
sleej). 

About  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  glutton- 


74  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

ous,  drunken  sleep  having  worn  off  from  most  of 
the  young  men,  they  indulged  in  a  game  of  foot- 
ball. The  ball  was  made  of  strips  of  rawhide, 
covered  with  many  pieces  of  woolen  cloth,  so  that 
it  would  not  injure  the  moccasined  foot.  So  far  as 
I  could  see,  there  were  no  rules  regulatinoj  the 
game,  and  the  whole  outcome  was  to  see  how  far 
and  how  often  each  one  could  kick  the  ball.  They 
laughed,  and  yelled,  and  jostled  each  other  in  the 
scramble  for  the  ball,  just  as  a  set  of  school  boys 
would  have  done. 

When  we  returned  to  our  tent  that  night,  we 
learned  that  some  comjolaint  of  stealing  was  to  be 
made  to  the  chief  against  one  of  the  Indians,  and 
repaired  at  once  to  his  house.  We  were  all  anx- 
ious to  know  what  kind  of  justice  would  be  meted 
to  the  offender.  Loamqui  assured  us  that  we  were 
welcome  to  hear  all  that  should  be  said  on  the 
subject.  In  a  few  minutes  two  young  women  en- 
tered and  told  the  chief  that  they  had  seen  a  young 
man  steal  some  skins  from  their  house  during  their 
temporaiy  absence  He  at  once  sent  for  the  young 
man  and  ordered  him  to  either  return  the  skins  or 
pay  their  full  value.  The  young  man  denied  tak- 
ing them,  but  soon  returned  with  others  which  the 
girls  accepted  as  equal  value,  and  the  case  was  dis- 
missed.    On  inquiry  we  learned  that  two  witness- 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  75 

es  ordinarily  were  enough  to  establish  the  guilt  of 
a  person  accused;  that  if  proven  guilty  of  theft, 
the  injured  party  must  always  receive  full  value  for 
the  articles  stolen;  that  if  the  person  was  not  able 
to  pay,  his  friends  must  pay  for  him;  and  if  thej 
were  not  able  to  do  so,  the  thief  was  challenged 
to  deadly  combat  with  any  of  the  friends  of  the  in- 
jured party  who  were  mx^st  able  to  do  the  fight- 
ing If  the  thief  should  be  successful  in  slaying 
his  adversary,  it  was  generally  accepted  as  evidence 
that  he  was  not  guilty  and  that  a  mistake  had  been 
made  in  accusing  him. 

It  is  straDge  that  the  blood  of  a  lamb  is  an  em- 
blem of  safety  with  these  Indians!  Such  we  were 
assured  is  the  case.  "When  they  go  to  war,  a  lamb 
is  killed,  and  the  blood  sprinkled  upon  the  arms 
of  the  warriors,  as  a  sign  that  vengeance  shall  not 
come  upon  them.  And  when  they  make  a  treaty 
of  peace  the  slain  lamb  is  again  brought  into  requi- 
sition. Each  one  of  the  covenanting  parties  tastes 
of  the  blood  and  eats  of  the  flesh,  to  show  that  what 
is  sealed  by  the  blood  of  innocence  shall  not  be 
broken . 

The  next  morning,  owing  to  the  expense  of  our 
hired  horses  and  guards,  we  distributed  presents 
to  each  of  Loamqui'ij  wives,  gave  him  a  large 
butcher's  knife,  and  took  our  leave,  feeling  greatly 


76  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

satisfied  with  our  visit,  and  confirmed  in  our  belief 
that  the  Llanistas  are  a  remarkable  tribe  of  In- 
dians, 


CHAPTKR  VII. 

A  Wicked  King— The  Conditions  of  Birth— Falsehoods— Sab- 
bath-breaking —  Prostitutes  —  Church  Services  —  Image 
Worship— A  Talk  in  the  Church  Yard— Crawling  to  the 
Cross— Good  Effects— Money  Making— Church  Bells  —The 
People  Desire  leligion — Blood  Money — Belesario  Para- 
Good  Friday— "Holy  Ghost"  in  Bad  Repute— What  Caused 
Religious  Reform— The  Burning  of  a  Great  Cathedral— 
3,000  Women  Carbonized— The  Heavenly  Letter  BOx— 
Cowardly  and  Crafty  Priests— Their  Ruinous  Pracices— 
The  Confessional  in  Bad  Repute. 

^P^|HILI  was  born  under  a  very  dark  oloud. 
I^lyj  During  a  period  in  the  world's  history 
^^  when  an  ill-conditioned,  low-browed, 
lantern  -  jawed,  ignorant  king,  with  small 
stature  and  great  pretentions,  sat  on  the 
Spanish  throne  and  dictated  to  the  rulers  of 
more  than  half  the  world;  during  a  period  when 
the  Spanish  Inquisition  was  hunting  down  men, 
women  and  children  of  high  and  low  degree,  tear- 
ing them  upon  the  rack,  burning  them  at  the  stake, 
drowning  them  iu  rivers,  buiying  them  alive, 
pinching  them  to  death  with  red-hot  pincers,  dis- 
emboweling them,  stinging  them  to  death  with 
bees  after  they  had  been  skinned  from  neck  to 
navel — all  in  the  name  of  Christ;  during  a  time 


78  CIVILIZATION   IN   OHILI. 

when  the  wicked  misrule  of  the  same  Spanish  mon- 
arch had  so  degraded  labor  that  merchants,  me- 
chanics, shop-keepers,  and  all  who  acquired  wealth 
by  production  or  traffic  of  any  kind,  were  degraded 
and  looked  upon  as  dishonorable  reptiles;  when 
to  cheat,  to  steal,  to  lie,  to  murder  were  among 
the  greatest  privileges  of  the  privileged  classes; 
when  to  bribe  and  be  bribed,  to  plunder  in  all  con- 
ceivable forms,  to  barter  influence  and  honor,  to 
sell  official  interviews  and  offices  of  trust,  were  the 
common  practices  of  ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  who 
had  obtained  a  monopoly  of  such'business> — daring 
Such  a  period  of  corruption  and  from  such  ignoble 
jmrentage  the  "Kingdom  of  Chili"  was  born. 

The  child  of  Spain,  it  inherited  all  the  folly 
and  corriij)tion  of  its  sire.  Its  government  in  all 
its  branches  was  conducted  either  by  the  priests 
themselves  or  by  parties  of  their  own  choosing. 
Long  did  the  powers  of  darkness  reign.  The 
shackles  of  Spain  were  finally  thrown  oflf,  but  the 
shackles  of  Rome  still  bound  the  little  nation  with 
the  cords  of  superstition  and  violence.  A  great 
wall  of  bigotry  and  religious  intolerance  completely 
shut  out  the  light  and  benefits  of  religious  freedom 
for  many  years.  And  to-day,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  by  almost  miraculous  powers  the  shackles 
of  Rome  have  been  broken,  yet  by  no  means  have 
they  been  cast  aside.     The  priest  is  still  there;  and 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  79 

the  paths  of  darkness,  so  long  and  faithfully  trod- 
den, are  still  plainl}^  visible. 

As  an  evidence  that  Spain  was  once  there,  there 
are  still  many  families  of  Spanish  origin  who  are 
as  proud  and  haughty  as  any  grandee  under  the 
reign  of  Charles  V.  Having  obtained  gi'eat  wealth 
as  well  as  great  ignorance  by  inheritance,  they 
look  upon  all  artisans  and  tradesmen  as  mere 
feudatory  vassals  to  do  their  bidding.  Consequent- 
ly labor  and  the  laborer  have  not  the  great  degree 
of  dignity  they  deserve.  No  wealthy  man's  son 
would  degrade  himself  by  carrying  a  musket  for 
his  country,  or  by  performing  any  kind  of  manual 
labor.  The  rotos,  or  ragged  men,  do  it  all.  In 
the  United  States — that  "blessed  home  of  the  free'' 
— the  laborer  has  equal  privileges  with  all  men. 
He  may  shovel  dirt  in  a  rich  man's  garden,  or  he 
may  occupy  a  seat  of  honor  in  the  presidential 
chair.  Bat  in  all  South  American  countries  the 
laborer  is  not  even  allowed  the  privilege  of  the  bal- 
lot. The  difterence  is  easily  explained :  the  United 
States  was  born  of  Protestant  England;  South 
America,  of  Catholic  Spain. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  long  and  fearful  rule  of 
darkness  and  corruption  of  Rome,  one  has  only  to 
witness  that  in  Chili  to-day  truth  is  almost  a 
stranger.  Men,  women  and  children  consider  it 
quite  legitimate    to    make   misstatements.     Even 


80  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

those  who  appear  most  eminently  pious  are  those 
who  will  mislead  3'ou  and  deceive  you  in  matters  of 
business.  The  priests  themselves  are  a  set  of  reli- 
gious liars.  It  is  not  a  part  of  their  religion  to  lie, 
but  their  religious  sentiment  teaches,  if  it  teaches 
anything,  that  the  blackest  kind  of  a  falsehood  is  a 
mere  hyperbole. 

The  Sabbath  day,  instead  of  being  a  day  of  rest, 
is  universally  profaned  and  desecrated  by  misappli- 
cation and  diversion  from  sacred  purposes.  It  is 
a  day  of  bartering  and  gaining;  a  day  for  great  en- 
tertainments, such  as  the  theater,  the  circus,  the 
dance;  a  day  for  drunkenness,  gambling,  fighting, 
visiting,  traveling,  horse-racing,  seducing,  debauch- 
ing, corrupting,  and  everything  else  but  what  the 
Great  Giver  of  life  intended  it. 

Another  evidence,  hinted  at  in  former  chapters, 
that  darkness  has  long  had  a  terrible  reign  in  Chili, 
is  the  great  number  of  prostitutes  found  through- 
out the  land.  I  admit  that  this  is  a  very  homely 
fact  to  record;  but  I  am  dealing  with  facts,  and 
must  pen  them  just  as  I  find  them.  Among  the 
lower  classes,  at  least.  Chili  has  more  prostitutes 
than  any  other  country  I  was  ever  in.  But  the 
most  noteworthy  fact  of  all  is,  that,  with  but  few 
if  any  exceptions,  they  are  all  tried  and  faithful 
members  of  the  Romish  Church.  One-third  of  all 
the  children  in  the  nation  are  born  out  of  wed- 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  81 

lock,  many  of  them  sons  and  daughters  of  priests, 
without  great  stigma  or  scandal  attached  either  to 
them  or  their  parents. 

Again,  to  an  enlightened  mind,  the  church  ser- 
vices are  not  only  very  barbarous  and  dipgusting, 
but  sometimes  they  are  revolting.  During  Sema- 
na  Santa — holy  week — in  every  city,  town,  village, 
hamlet  and  parish,  there  is  exhibited  a  wax  figure, 
supposed  to  represent  the  crucified  Saviour,  just  as 
they  were  taking  Him  from  the  cross.  A  death  agony 
is  on  the  face.  The  head  is  fallen  over  lifeless. 
The  spear  wound  is  plainly  visible  in  the  side,  and 
the  blood  seems  to  be  actually  dripping  from  all 
the  five  wounds.  One  foot  is  usually  removed 
from  the  recumbent  cross  and  carefully  placed 
over  an  open  box.  The  credulous,  superstitious 
people  crowd  around  this,  and,  awe-stricken,  fall 
upon  their  knees,  kiss  the  extended  foot,  and  de- 
posit money  in  the  box  beneath.  Thus  the  blood 
of  oiu"  Saviour,  instead  of  being  represented  as 
cleansing  from  all  sin,  is  used  to  wring  from  the 
poor  and  hungry  souls — hungry  for  the  real  truth 
— their  hard-earned  pennies  to  fill  the  pockets  of 
the  crafty  priests. 

But  the  images  intended  to  represent  the  Sav- 
iour of  the  world  are  not  always  even  decent 
looking.  In  Concepcion,  those  that  I  have  seen 
were  made  of  wax  and  were  life-like  in  appearance. 


82  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI, 

But  in  Santiago,  the  great  center  of  wealth  and  pow- 
er, the  image  I  saw  there,  in  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  influential  churches,  was  something  dreadful 
to  look  at.  A  Peruvian  mummy  could  scarcely 
have  been  more  revolting.  It  was  rudely  carved 
from  wood,  roughly  painted,  and  the  hair  from  a 
horse-tail  made  to  represent  the  hair  of  the  Son  of 
Man,  wearing  a  crown  of  thorns. 

On  one  occsion,  while  watching  the  great  mul- 
titude solemnly  and  sorrowfully  approach  one  of 
these  images,  I  was  met  with  a  smile  and  a  friendly 
nod  from  a  native  lady  acquaintance  and  friend. 
Knowing  that  she  was  honest,  sincere,  a  true  friend, 
and  quite  well  educated,  I  embraced  the  opportu- 
nity of  questioning  her  concerning  the  worship  of 
images. 

"Why  do  the  people  crowd  around  that  image, 
and  bow  down  and  kiss  that  dreadful,  repulsive 
foot?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  my  dear  sir,"  she  said,  ''how  dare  you! 
That  is  the  blessed  -Jesus!" 

"No,  not  Jesus.  He  is  the  Son  of  God,  the  great 
source  of  light  and  life;  and  that  is  nothing  but  a 
dumb,  lifeless  image,  made  by  man." 

"My  dear  sir  !"  she  said,  "do  not  blaspheme  in 
this  sacred  temple,  upon  this  holy  occasion.  God 
might  smite  you  \" 

"Pardon  me,  senorita;  I  do  not  wish  to  be  oflen- 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  83 

sive,  I  assure  you  that  I  am  an  earnest  seeker  after 
truth;  so  please  tell  me  why  that  image  of  the  cru- 
cified Lord  is  used  to  extort  money  from  so  many 
of  these  poor  people." 

"No  money  is  extorted,  my  friend,"  she  an- 
swered. "It  is  all  given  freely;  and  you  ought  to 
know  that  by  the  giving  of  good  gifts  we  come  into 
favor  with  God." 

"The  best  gift  is  the  heart,  senorita." 

"True,  but  God  accepts  the  heart  more  readily 
when  he  sees  these  tokens  of  our  sincerity  and  de- 
votion. I  would  lay  all  the  world  on  this  altar  to- 
night if  I  had  it.  Come,  my  friend,"  she  continued, 
growing  very  earnest,  "leave  your  heretical  doc- 
trines, join  in  this  blessed  worship,  and  become  a 
true  son  of  the  Church,  and  gain  eternal  life  and 
glory,  instead  of  resting  under  the  condemnation 
of  the  blessed  Saviour  !" 

Poor,  devoted  creature  !  I  turned  away  and 
busied  myself  in  studying  the  strange  scenes  before 
me.  1  had  observed  before  that  the  priests  and  at- 
tendants were  robed  in  black;  that  the  church  and 
altar  were  stripped  of  all  ornaments  and  draped  in 
heaA^y  mourning;  that  the  priests  were  reciting 
long  and  oft-repeated  prayers  for  all  orders,  ranks 
and  classes  of  the  true  church,  as  well  as  for  her- 
etics, heathens  and  Jews.  But  the  strangest,  most 
impressive  and  striking  part  of   the  ceremony  was 


84  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

the  great  crowd  of  female  worshipers,  led  by  the 
dignitaries  of  the  Chui'ch,  and  joined  by  a  limited 
number  of  men,  all  creeping  to  tbe  cross  on  their 
knees — in  memory  of  the  awful  events  which  the 
crucifix  represents.  The  great  throng  first  knelt  in 
the  front  yard,  and  slowly  walked  on  their  knees 
through  the  gravelly  courts,  up  through  the  long 
hall,  until  they  reached  the  image  of  the  Crucified, 
and  each  in  turn  kissed  the  wounded  foot.  The 
scene  was  solemn  and  awful,  and  many  who  came 
to  look,  reverently  joined  in  the  worship. 

This  worship  has  one  good  efi"ect:  It  brings  rich 
and  poor  to  the  same  level.  For  here,  all  wrapped 
in  black  manias,  were  rick  ladies  side  by  side  with 
those  who,  in  social  life,  are  degraded  as  servants. 

That  foot  is  a  money-making  institution.  Con- 
cepcion  has  nine  Catholic  churches,  and  the  harvest 
during  the  one  week  has  been  as  great  as  eleven 
thousand  dollat's.  Poor  people,  who  do  not  know 
where  or  how  the  next  meal  is  to  be  provided,  de- 
posit there  their  hard-earned  pennies.  On  Thursday 
night  of  Holy-week,  all  the  churches  are  grandly 
illuminated,  and  decorated  profusely  and  often 
beautifully  with  flowers.  Each  chm'ch  seems  to  vie 
with  its  neighbors  in  beautifying  the  altars  and 
walls;  but  there  is  no  strife.  Everything  is  in  per- 
fect harmony,  and  every  church  has  its  own  image 
of  Jesus. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  85 

All  the  communicants  congregate  first  in  their 
own  edifice,  approach  the  image  on  their  knees, 
kiss  the  extended  foot,  and  deposit  their  money; 
then  the  whole  congregation  marches  to  the  next 
nearest  church,  praying  aloud  as  they  go,  as  though 
trying  to  repeat  the  Ave  Maria  each  oftener  than 
his  neighbor.  In  this  way  all  the  churches  of  the 
city  are  visited,  the  devotions  and  donations  re- 
peated in  each,  so  that  the  harvest  of  money  is 
much  greater  than  it  would  be  were  there  no  inter- 
changes of  congregational  visits.  The  priests  are 
often  among  the  wealthier  classes  of  the  country. 

The  nine  church  b  uildings  of  Concepcion  eould 
not  have  cost  less  than  one  million  of  dollars.  They 
are  very  large,  plain-looking  on  the  outside,  but 
inside  they  are  grand.  Large  marbled  columns, 
thirty,  forty  and  fifty  feet  in  height,  support  arched 
roofs,  studded  with  golden  ornaments  of  beautiful 
design.  The  paintings  are  expensive  and  quite 
numerous,  and  everything  seems  to  have  a  digni- 
fied, rich  appearance  that  would  say,  "We  are 
wealthy  people  who  worshij)  here  !" 

One  feature  about  these  churches  worthy  of  no- 
tice is  the  great  number  of  bells  belonging  to  each. 
That,  of  course,  of  itself  would  be  nothing  very  un- 
common. These  bells,  however,  are  all  discordant 
and  out  of  tune.  The  more  hideous  the  noise  they 
make,  the  more  satisfaction  they  seem  to  give.  The 


86  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

church  nearest  our  residence  rings  its  every-day 
bell  each  morning  at  five  o'clock  the  whole  year 
round;  and  soon  after  we  can  hear  the  faithful 
senoritas  trudging  past  our  window,  obeying  its 
call  to  attend  mass.  It  rings  again  at  six,  again 
at  seven,  again  at  eight,  at  twelve,  at  two,  and  at 
six  and  at  eight  in  the  evening.  For  special 
occasions  the  same  church  has  three  larger  ones, 
all  differing  in  size  and  tone,  all  of  them  discordant 
and  ringing  in  great  confusion.  The  church  on 
the  next  square  rings  its  bell  every  hour  in  the  day, 
from  five  in  the  morning  till  nine  in  the  evening. 
Its  one  large  bell  is  hammered,  for  special  occa- 
sions, by  a  boy  who  beats  time  to  some  imaginary 
quickstep,  not  unlike,  in  time  and  measure,  to  the 
playing  of  Yankee  Doodle  on  a  snare  drum.  0 
Saturday  evening  all  the  bells  of  the  city  are  run 
at  once,  and  I  am  sure  that  the  bellowing  of  a 
thousand  bulls  would  not  be  more  distressing  or 
discordant. 

I  never  knew  a  people  more  devou.t  than  the 
people  of  Chili.  If  torture,  confession,  self-denia 
and  self-inflicted  punishments  will  take  people  to 
heaven,  a  great  throng  will  go  up  from  that  little 
republic.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  persons  to 
march  to  the  shrine  of  worship  on  thek  knees, 
over  sharp  and  flinty  gravel-stones,  and  then  beat 
themselves  continually   with   leather   straps,    con- 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  87 

taining  sharpened  nails.  The  bodies  are  often  thus 
punished  until  the  blood  runs  profusely;  and  when 
the  poor  creatures  can  do  no  more,  they  leave  all 
of  their  moneyed  values  upon  the  altar  and  depart. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  a  large  portion  of  the 
wealth  of  the  Church  is  blood  money,  obtained  as 
recited  above.  I  have  gone  into  details  somewhat, 
but  I  think  no  more  than  is  necessary,  for  I  want 
the  world  to  know  what  an  earnest,  enthusiastic  set 
of  worshipers  the  Chilians  are,  and  how  they  are 
really  hungering  after  religious  truth.  They  are 
seeking  the  bread  of  life,  and  are  being  fed  on 
husks  by  ravenous  wolves.  When  will  the  shackles 
be  cast  aside?  When  will  the  power  of  Kome  be 
superseded? 

My  poor  servant,  Belesario  Para,  than  whom  a 
better  man  never  lived,  is  an  example  of  the  won- 
derful influence  the  Chiu'ch  exerts  over  the  great 
body  of  poor  and  ignorant  people.  His  infant 
daughter  was  very  sick,  and  the  poor  man,  instead 
of  seeking  the  wise  counsels  of  a  physician,  laid 
the  whole  case  before  Saint  Sebaf<iian.  And  al- 
though receiving  but  eleven  dollars  per  month ^ — a 
third  more  than  he  could  receive  elsewhere — from 
which  he  had  to  support  himself  and  family,  he 
vowed  to  give  the  Saint  fifteen  dollars  for  interfer- 
ing with  the  disease,  and  five  dollars  more  with 
which  to  buy  wax  candles. 


88  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

Now,  this  man  was  no  fool.  On  the  contrary,  he 
was  very  shrewd;  knew  how  to  read  and  write, 
and,  after  his  fashion,  was  something  of  a  philos- 
opher. His  baby  died,  even  before  I  knew  it  was 
very  sick;  but  he  did  not  lose  confidence  in  Halnt 
Sebastian.  However,  when  he  was  preparing  to  do 
what  all  the  rest  of  his  class  are  compelled  to  do — 
wrap  the  dead  body  of  his  beloved  in  a  rag,  dig  a 
hole  and  bury  it — and  whea  I  came  to  the  rescue 
with  a  coffin,  hired  a  carriage  to  carry  himself  and 
family  with  their  dead  to  the  cemetery,  he  could 
not  help  contrasting  such  principles  of  love  with  the 
treatment  he  had  received  from  the  priests,  not  one 
of  whom  had  darkened  his  door,  and  he  wisely  con- 
cluded not  to  pay  his  vow  to  the  Saint. 

Chili  is  making  rapid  advances,  even  in  matters 
of  religion.  Ten  years  ago  the  religious  enthusiasm 
did  not  permit  a  man  to  ride  through  the  streets  on 
Good  Friday.  Even  the  cars  were  not  allowed  to 
run.  All  business  was  stopped,  and  woe  to  the 
carriage  that  made  its  appearance  upon  the  streets. 
But  now  business  is  conducted  at  liberty  as  upon 
other  days ;  the  omnibusses  run  w^ith  as  much  clat- 
ter, and  people  generally  do  as  they  please.  The 
great  mass  of  people,  however,  please  to  patronize 
the  Church. 

One  of  the  many  customs,  so  foolish,  and  still  so 
dear  to  the  hearts  of   the  priests,  that  is  gradually 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  89 

dying  out,  is  the  "Procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
It  is  still  practiced;  but  the  j)oor  ghost  has  but  a 
ghost  of  an  audience,  composed  mainly  of  rag- 
muffins. 

The  'holy  ghost"  of  the  occasion  is  a  priest,  who 
generally  enters  a  carriage  with  great  pomp,  bear- 
ing in  one  hand  burning  incense  and  in  the  other 
the  consecrated  wine  and  wafers  of  the  commun- 
ions. Somehow  this  is  supjiosed  to  represent  the 
Holy  Spuit,  but  just  how,  I  have  not  learned.  The 
moment  the  priest  enters  the  carriage  the  proces- 
sion commences.  The  carriage  is  drawn  b}^  some 
of  the  faithful.  A  few  years  ago,  it  was  required 
of  every  person  meeting  this  procession  to  fall  to 
the  ground  and  uncover  the  head;  but  now  it  is 
in  such  ill-favor  that  it  is  carried  into  the  suburbs 
of  town  or  into  the  country  to  avoid  the  sneers  of 
enlightened  people. 

The  saints,  too,  are  rapidly  losing  their  power, 
and  educated  people  are  refusing  to  bow  to  their 
images.  Saint  Sebastian,  however,  is  still  a  great 
favorite  in  the  province  of  Concepcion.  At  Yum- 
bel,  as  mall  town  near  the  city  of  Concepcion, 
there  is  a  church  dedicated  to  this  saint.  Being 
a  patron  saint,  a  day  is  given  every  year,  set  aside 
and  consecrated  for  his  worship.  People  flock  to 
Yumbel  by  the  thousands,  and  when  night  comes, 
the  priests  find   themselves  usually   about  twenty 


90  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

thousand  dollars  richer.  This  is  somewhat  un- 
usual in  the  country  at  large,  and  many  of  the  bet- 
ter classes,  who  ai'e  devout  Catholics,  shake  their 
heads  ominously  regarding  saint  worship. 

Perhai^s  not  one  thing  has  done  more  to  open 
the  eyes  of  the  people  of  Chili,  and  cause  a  grow- 
ing reversion  of  feelings  for  the  priest  and  his  ava- 
rice, than  the  burning  of  the  Cathedral  in  Santiago 
in  1863.  On  the  eighth  day  of  December,  in  that 
year,  that  magnificent  structure  was  burned  to  the 
ground,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  stir  the  heart  of 
the  nation  to  its  profoundest  depth,  giving  it  such 
a  shock  as  to  depict  sorrow  and  sadness  upon  the 
brow  of  every  individual  in  the  Republic . 

Long  before  dark,  while  the  doors  of  the  temple 
were  still  closed,  the  square  in  which  it  was  situ- 
ated was  densely  crowded  with  people,  mo 4  of 
whom  were  women — the  wives  and  daughters  of 
the  noblest  and  wealthiest  men  in  the  capital  city — 
waiting  for  the  doors  to  open  to  receive  them. 

"The  Tale  of  the  Confessional,"  an  admirably 
written  novel,  by  a  Chilina  gentleman,  who  was 
himself  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  who 
was  an  eye-witness  to  this  dreadful  calamity,  truth- 
fully tells  the  tale  of  horror,  as  I  quote  below: 

"The  crowd  kept  increasing  rapidly,  for  in  all 
the  streets  which  opened  into  the  squai*e  were  seen 
hundreds  of  persons,  thronging  in  haste,  that  they 


PAST   AND    PRESENT.  91 

might  reach  the  chiu'ch  in  time  to  secvire  good  sit- 
uations to  see  the  whole  ceremony. 

"It  was  not  long,  however,  until  the  temple 
doors  were  thrown  wide  open,  into  which  the  im- 
mense crowd  rushed  like  a  toiTent,  to  gain  the  in- 
terior of  the  church,  spreading  themselves  in  all 
directions  through  the  extensive  aisles,  but  more 
particularly  the  nave  and  the  large  open  space  be- 
fore the  high  altar. 

" People  kept  arriving  in  great  numbers.  They 
commenced  to  light  the  thousands  of  lamps,  which 
in  great  abundance  were  hung  in  every  part, 
wherever  it  was  possible  to  place  them.  Many  boys 
were  seen  crawling  along  the  cornices,  in  imminent 
danger  of  their  lives,  lighting  the  innumerable  col- 
ored glass  vases  filled  with  paraflfine,  which  were 
most  artistically  distributed  among  the  gauze  and 
muslin  clouds  to  represent  stars. 

"All  the  women  were  in  ecstasies.  In  no  theater 
in  the  world  had  ever  been  seen  such  a  splendid 
light;  but  it  was  at  the  high  altar  where  the  great- 
est blaze  of  sj^lendor  was  displayed. 

"The  Virgin  was  arrayed  in  most  beautiful  and 
costly  dress,  shining  in  glittering  and  valuable 
jewels  and  ornaments;  around  her  head  were  sparks 
of  light,  forming  a  phosphorescent  aureole.  All 
the  world  was  in  ecstasies,  and  yet  that  sea  of  par- 
affine  was  not  all  lighted. 


92  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHrLI. 

People  kept  an'i\dng  in  great  numbers.  All 
classes  of  society  were  confounded  together,  and  it 
may  be  said  that  nearly  half  of  the  women  of  San- 
tiago were  collected  in  that  place  where,  in  a  few 
minutes,  was  going  to  be  the  greatest  sacrifice  ever 
known — not  of  a  hundred  oxen,  as  the  ancients 
were  in  the  habit  of  ofteiing  up  to  their  idols,  but 
between  two  and  three  thousand  human  beings, 
who  were  waiting  to  be  offered  up  as  a  burnt  offer- 
ing to  the  gorgeously  dressed  idol  of  the  queen  of 
heaven,  which  stood  behind  the  high  altar  of  the 
church. 

'Lamps  containing  paraflfine  were  placed  behind 
a  transparency  representing  a  half-moon,  which 
served  as  a  pedestal  to  support  the  colossal  image 
of  the  Virgin.  The  flame  from  one  of  these  lamps 
caught  the  painting;  it  immediately  ignited,  and 
soon  the  whole  was  in  a  blaze.  The  fire  spread  with 
frightful  rapidity,  and  communicated  itself  to  a 
painted  screen  of  wood  and  canvas,  which  rested 
against  the  wall  at  the  back  of  the  altar;  thence 
running  along  the  wreath  of  artificial  flowers 
formed  of  paper  and  muslin,  it  reached  the  roof  of 
the  building,  which  was  soon  a  mass  of  flame. 

''When  the  first  cry  of  fire  was  heard,  the  women, 
alarmed,  confused,  ignorant  of  what  was  the  mat- 
ter, rushed  and  crowded  against  each  other,  without 
knowing  where  to  go  or  what  to  do.  The  confusion 


PAST   AND    PRESENT.  93 

and  disorder  were  indescribable,  and  the  cries 
heartrending  and  harrowing.  The  immense  quan- 
tity of  combustible  matter  in  the  building-,  the 
strong  current  of  air  set  uji  between  the  cupola  on 
the  roof  and  the  doors,  the  woodworks  dry  and 
freshly  painted,  the  paraflfine  in  the  lamps  in  every 
part,  hundi'eds  of  which  were  susjDended  from  the 
roof,  and  from  which  poured  down  streams  of 
liquid  fire  upon  the  devoted  crowd  beneath — all 
this  contributed  to  form  an  immense  furnace,  in 
which  were  consumed,  in  a  few  minutes,  more  than 
two  thousand  human  beings. 

"Many  of  the  male  part  of  the  congregation,  by 
desperate  eiYorts,  succeeded  in  escaping;  but  the 
females,  encumbered  by  their  crinolines,  getting 
their  feet  entangled  in  the  ample  folds  of  their 
dresses,  fell  prostrate  in  heaps  upon  the  very 
threshold  of  the  door,  wher^  they  lay  piled  up  by 
the  hundreds,  thus  forming  a  barrier  impassable  to 
the  horror-stricken  crowd  behind. 

"Soon  the  whole  interior  of  the  building  was  en- 
enveloped  in  flames,  the  light  of  which  rendered 
distinctly  visible  a  most  horrifying  and  appalling 
sight.  From  the  entrance  of  the  church,  far  back 
as  the  great  altar,  was  an  immense  lake  of  fire,  in 
which  hundreds  of  human  beings,  mostly  females, 
were  seen.  Some  of  the  victims  appeared  in  the  act 
of  embracing  each  other;  some  in  a  supplicating  at- 


94  OIVELIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

titude,  as  though  they  were  imploring  the  mercy 
of  God;  some  on  their  knees,  and  others  standing, 
but  in  all  life  was  extinct.  All  description,  how- 
ever exact  it  may  be,  will  fall  far  short  of  painting 
the  facts  as  they  were  in  reality;  and  it  is  beyond 
the  imagination  to  form  an  idea  of  the  agonizing 
and  horrifying  scene. 

"This  famous  temple  of  Campagnia  was  reduced 
to  ashes,  and  more  than  two  thousand  persons,  the 
greater  part  of  whom  were  women,  perished  with 
it,  without  a  voice  of  one  of  the  priests  being  heard 
to  restrain  them,  to  direct  them,  and  to  prevent  the 
confusion  peculiar  to  the  female  sex. 

"If  any  one  of  the  priests  had  only  said  in  those 
awful  moments  to  the  affrighted  crowd,  'Do  not  be 
alarmed,  my  children;  make  not  such  confusion 
there  is  time  sufficient  for  all  to  leave,'  the  loss  of 
life  would  have  been  less.  And  if  those  priests 
had  been  more  zealous,  more  humane,  and  had 
performed  their  duty — if  they  had  guided  the  poor 
women  with  calmness,  and  sustained  them  by 
their  presence;  with  their  words,  as  they  ought  to 
have  done,  it  is  evident  that  hundi'eds  of  lives 
might  have  been  saved,  and  perhaps  we  should 
only  have  had  to  lament  the  loss  of  the  church. 

"Such  was  not  the  case,  ho*vever,  for  it  was  the 
contrary  of  all  this.  The  ravens  of  the  sacristy 
were  the  first  to  escape  by  the  same  sacristy  (side 


PAST    AND    PEESENT.  95 

doors  of  the  vestiy),  occupying  themselves  only  in 
removing  to  a  place  of  safety  their  clerical  orna- 
ments and  those  trumpery  of  paintings  and  images 
which  serve  them  in  their  religious  or  rather  pagan 
ceremonies  and  phantasmagoria. 

"In  a  short  space  of  time  all  effort  was  useless. 
To  the  cries  for  succor  and  pity,  succeeded  a  death- 
like stillness.  The  lamentations  of  all  were  hushed, 
and  nothing  was  heard  save  the  frightful  crickling 
sounds  caused  now  and  then  by  the  flames,  which, 
impelled  by  the  strong  currents  of  air,  rushed 
through  the  doors  of  the  temple. 

"Scarcely  a  mvirmur  was  heard  in  that  immense 
number  of  persons  congregated  togetlier,  aston- 
ished, frightened  and  stupefied,  who  gazed  without 
being  able  to  comprehend  the  extent  of  the  evil 
and  the  colossal  proportions  of  the  catastrophe. 
This  sepulchral  silence,  this  hoarse  sound  of  devour- 
ing elements,  the  burning  fragments  flying  through 
the  air  and  carried  to  a  long  distance,  the  sight  of 
those  human  heads,  carbonized  and  apparently 
lying  in  symmetrical  rows,  one  above  the  other  to 
a  considerable  height— all  this  produced  a  fear  and 
a  terror  in  the  minds  of  men  we  will  not  attempt  to 
describe.  There  is  nothing  more  frightful  and 
alarming  than  to  see  an  immense  crowd  without 
movement,  without  noise,  silent  and  contracted, 
each  individual  within  himself,  and  with  their  eyes 


96  CIVILIZATION   IN   OHILI. 

all  staring  and  fixed  on  one  single  point.  A  parox- 
ysm of  violent  pain  wlien  the  suflferer  is  mute  is 
most  terrible. 

"The  night  arrived  before  the  fire  had  exhausted 
itself  and  was  almost  extinguished.  Here  and 
there  might  be  seen  a  faint  bluish  flame,  fed  by  the 
gases  exhaled  from  the  dead  human  bodies.  Pieces 
of  wood  were  still  burning,  but  they  were  only 
brands  or  smoldering  embers,  the  flames  from 
which  were  weak,  and  there  was  nothing  left  to 
admire  or  to  fear.  And  then  that  crowd,  as  though 
awoke  from  profound  lethargy,  commenced  to 
show  signs  of  life.  They  run  in  different  directions, 
they  question  each  other,  they  embrace,  they  weep, 
they  disperse  themselves  in  every  pai"t,  seeking 
for  those  friends  whom  they  love,  and  whom  they 
fear  are  forever  lost. 

"Husbands,  fathers,  mothers,  brothers,  sons, 
relations  and  friends — the  population  of  the  entire 
city,  without  exception,  are  all  in  great  commo- 
tion. All  the  streets  are  filled  with  crowds  of  peo- 
ple. 

"In  all  parts  resound  outcries,  complaints,  sobs, 
curses,  questions,  afraid  to  be  made  acquainted  with 
the  reality — evasive  answers  or  sad  and  cruel  truths. 
No  one  knows  what  has  truly  happened,  but  all 
fear  to  know.  In  all  du-eotions  may  be  seen  indi- 
viduals of  different  sexes,  ages  and  conditions,  who 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  97 

run  to  and  fro;  they  inquire  at  their  homes  if  the 
lost  ones  have  returned,  and  not  finding  thera, 
again  start  off  to  inquire  at  the  houses  of  their 
friends,  and,  heart-broken,  direct  their  steps  toward 
the  place  of  the  fatal  catastrophe. 

''There  was  one  particular  circumstance,  although 
not  noticed  at  the  moment,  vet  afterward  attractino- 
the  attention  of  everybody,  which  was,  that  during 
the  whole  of  that  dreadful  night,  when  many  of 
those  persons  who  had  been  drawn  from  the  fire 
were  d}ing  by  the  dozen,  in  the  hospitals,  in  the 
chemists'  shops,  and  in  the  streets  and  houses  in 
the  vicinity,  not  one  priest,  not  one  of  those  black- 
robed  gentry  who  are  to  be  found  as  thick  as  flies 
in  all  the  streets  in  our  Catholic  caj)ital  city,  was  to 
be  seen  to  afford  the  last  consolation  to  their  ex- 
piring flocks.     *     *     * 

"As  the  morning  light  of  the  following  day  ap- 
peared, it  made  more  palpable,  more  evident,  the 
fatal  results  of  the  ti'emendous  and  de^ructive 
conflagTation.  No  one  could  doubt  the  reality  of 
what  had  occurred,  no  one  could  mistake  the  loss 
they  had  suflered.  Very  few  were  the  houses  in 
which  they  had  not  to  lament  one  or  more  members 
of  the  family,  and  some  houses  remained  closed, 
entirely  shut  up,  for  masters  and  servants  had 
died,  and  there  remained  only  the  dogs,  the  fowls 
and   the  cats,  and   they,  too,  died   in  their  turn — 


98  CrVILIZATION    IN    CHIIil. 

died  of  hunger,  for  there  was  no  one  to  feed  them. 

"It  was  not  unfrequent  to  find  men  left  com- 
pletely alone,  having  lost  wife  and  children,  and 
obliged  to  return  to  their  desolate  hearths,  filled 
with  tender  and  painful  reminiscences.  How 
many  of  these  may  not  have  found  relief  in  their 
despair  by  committing  suicide." 

This  wonderful  event,  so  full  of  sadness  and  so 
heart-rending  in  all  its  contingencies,  penned  by 
an  eye  witness,  is  a  true  picture,  as  I  have  been 
abundantly  informed  by  those  who  were  them- 
selves witnesses  of  as  well  as  su£ferers  in  that  great 
calamity. 

It  was  intended  for  the  grandest  display  of  reli- 
gious devotion  ever  witnessed  in  all  the  world.  It 
was  during  the  "month  of  May" — a  month  set 
aside  for  the  worship  of  the  Virgin.  The  whole  of 
Chili  had  gone  into  ecstasies  over  the  rel'gious 
rites,  the  different  churches  in  the  different  towns 
vieing  with  each  other  in  the  great  display  of 
wealth  and  in  the  enormity  of  the  sums  collected 
for  the  priests. 

"The  Heavenly  Letter-Box"  was  established  in 
Santiago,  and  a  large  sisterhood  arose  in  all  parts 
of  the  state  ctdled  Daughters  Predilect  of  Mary. 
This  sisterhood  made  all  of  its  wants  known  to  the 
Virgin  through  the  heavenly  letter-box. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  99 

A  priest  being  the  appointed  mouthpiece  of  the 
Virgin,  received  and  opened  all  these  letters,  an- 
swering them  as  his  fancy  dictated.  It  was  of  im- 
mense value  to  the  church,  and  gave  a  power  to 
the  priest  he  could  not  command  through  the  con- 
fessional. For  example:  A  young  lady  desiring 
a  husband  asked  for  one  in  her  secret  correspon- 
dence with  the  Virgin  Mary;  this  desire  not  being 
a  sin,  she  does  not  reveal  it  to  her  confessor,  thus 
making  tbe  letter-box  the  complement  of  the  con- 
fessional. In  the  confessional  they  confessed  their 
faults;  but  in  the  sacred  post-office  "in  heaven" 
they  revealed  what  was  most  delicate  and  suscep- 
t  ble  in  the  soul  of  woman.  The  confessional 
could  only  exercise  its  sway  over  the  conscience; 
but  the  sacred  postoffice,  with  its  mouthp-ece  of 
the  "Queen  of  Heaven,"  could  penetrate  even  the 
wishes,  the  desires  and  asjiirations  of  every  woman 
belonging  to  the  order. 

Thousands  of  letters  were  registered  every  week, 
some  of  which  were  of  the  greatest  importance. 
The  postmaster-general  of  heaven,  acting  as  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  was  owner  of 
the  whole  of  the  capital  city,  if  not  of  Chili.  His 
nets  were  extended  in  every  direction;  from  the 
hovel  to  the  gilded  mansion,  the  names  of  the  wo- 
men were  recorded  upon  his  book.  This  gave  him  a 
sure  clue  to  all  the  family  secrets,  which  was  used 


100  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

as  a  means  of  great  power  and  gain.  For  example : 
Some  pious  sister  of  Daughters  Predilect  of  Mary 
discovered  that  her  husband,  who  was  a  distin- 
guished senator,  would  oppose  certain  measures  in 
Congress  beneficial  to  Catholicism;  whereupon,  her 
heart  being  greatly  troubled,  she  conferred  with  the 
Virgin  Mary  through  the  secret  postofl&ce  and  told 
all  her  fears  and  misgivings.  The  mouthpiece  of 
the  Queen  of  Heaven,  having  news  of  great 
importance,  would  send  a  message  in  answer, 
dii'ect  from  the  Virgin  herself,  assuring  the  unhap- 
py woman  that  by  her  aid  and  influence  the  views 
of  her  husband  could  be  changed;  whereupon  the 
faithful  wife  would  consider  it  her  religious  duty 
to  engage  in  secret  plottiugs  with  her  priest  to  de- 
feat the  husband  of  her  bosom  and  love. 

This  order  of  the  Daughters  Predilect  had  its 
headquarters  in  the  ill-fated  church,  and  the  gor- 
geous display,  intended  to  eclipse  any  and  all  for- 
mer attempts  of  the  kind  in  the  world,  but  which 
ended  so  sadly,  was  born  of  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
women  and  priests  of  that  order.  No  doubt  the 
great  power  this  private  letter-box  gave  the  priests 
over  the  secret  workings  of  all  the  families  had 
caused  great  discontent  and  annoyance  among  the 
husbands  and  fathers  in  all  the  land.  Catholicism 
in  Chili  was  then  in  its  gloiy;  but  its  dominant 
power  had  been  earned  so  far   that  without  doubt 


PAST    AND    PRESENT,  101 

many  of   the  better   classes  were  weary  and   were 
longing  for  something  else. 

The  fatal  destruction  of  that  grand  edifice,  con- 
taining so  many  mothers,  wives  and  fair  daughters 
of  the  land,  and  the  terrible  cowardice  and  selfish- 
ness of  all  the  priests  in  the  hours  of  peril  and 
danger,  are  thought  by  many  to  be  the  stroke  that 
said  plainly  to  Catholicism,  "thus  far  and  no  far- 
ther." Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  since 
that  day  Romanism  has  been  slowly  on  the  decline. 
A  liberal  party  has  come  into  power,  which,  one 
by  one,  is  taking  away  the  wings  on  which  Roman- 
ism sailed  to  gloiy. 

Nothing  now  prevents  a  separation  of  Church 
and  State  but  for  the  liberal  party  to  step  foi-ward 
and  claim  it  by  constitutional  revision.  This,  in 
the  judgment  of  all  who  have  studied  the  situation, 
will  be  done  before  many  years. 

That  such  a  high-handed  humbug  as  the  heavenly 
letter-box  could  ever  have  existed  in  a  country  with 
a  school  house  in  every  town,  and  where  there  are 
many  thousands  of  gentlemen  and  ladies  of  refine- 
ment and  education,  i?  truly  a  marvel.  It  shows 
to  what  extent  extreme  religious  zeal  can  mis- 
guide and  mislead  the  people  of  a  nation.  Pagan 
lands  have  many  idols;  but  Christian  Chili,  in  the 
nineteenth  century,  overshadowed  them  all  with  an 


UBRAIY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 


102  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

idol  that  was  carried  into  the  homes  of  all  classes 
in  all  the  country. 

The  heavenly  letter-box  has  ceased  to  exist;  but 
many  of  the  poor,  deluded  women  still  cling  to  the 
phantom.  In  the  year  1882  three  hundred  letters 
were  received  at  the  postoffice  in  Santiago >,  directed 
to  the  Virgin  Mary— a  sad  comment  on  a  land  that 
resounds  with  the  whistle  of  the  locomotive  and  the 
electric  click  of  thf^.  telegraph. 

But  the  priests  are  not  lacking  in  power,  and 
many  are  the  devices  and  subterfuges  by  which  they 
control  their  flocks;  for,  like  all  good  shepherds, 
they  look  upon  them  as  their  flocks,  and  proceed 
to  shear  them  accordingly;  and  many  are  the  fat 
fleeces  they  put  into  their  pockets. 

But  here  in  Chili,  as  in  all  other  Catholic  coun- 
tries, the  great  rock  Peter,  upon  whom  Rome  has 
builded  her  Church,  is  the  confessional.  When 
the  poor,  earnest  seekers  have  become  so  humili- 
ated that  they  long  to  repent  and  find  rest  and 
salvation,  they  know  no  other  way  but  to  carry 
their  burdens  and  lay  them  at  the  feet  of  the 
priests.  The  whole  heart  is  laid  open,  and  the 
mind  is  in  that  plastic,  mouldable  condition  that 
makes  the  penitent  willing  to  do  anything  the  cold- 
blooded priests  ma}^  dictate.  But  their  power  is 
particularly  with  the  women  and  young  girs.  The 
latter    are    probed    and    questioned  with  things 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  103 

they  do  not  understand,  and  taught  that  things 
shameful  to  mention  are  in  accord  with  the  will  of 
God.  For,  be  it  known  that  the  priests  often 
teach^that  they  are  authorized  by  the  mandates  of 
Rome  to  investigate  the  most  secret  and  hidden 
things,  thus  often  tearing  away  the  veil  of  modes- 
ty and  purity,  which  is  the  most  precious  gift  of 
the  tender  young  girl,  and  her  moi-t  fascinating  ai- 
traction.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  vh-tue  here  is  not 
highly  regarded  among  all  the  people  of  the  na- 
tion ?  Is  it  any  wonder  that  one  third  of  all  the 
children  born  are  begotten  in  sin  through  lusts  and 
unholy  desires? 

"Woe  unto  the  pastors  that  destroy  and  scatter 
the  sheep  of  my  pasture,  saith  the  Lord." 

This  veil  of  jaunty  should  never  be  touched.  But 
the  priests  of  Eome  are  those  who  contaminate 
and  blunt  its  delicacy,  and  blast  it  with  their  poi- 
sonous breath.  What  else  could  we  expect  of  men 
who  have  renounced  the  family  tie  and  the  natural 
affections  implanted  in  their  hearts  by  the  Creator  ? 
IIow  should  we  expect  men  to  conduct  themselves 
who  have  solemnly  sworn  to  disobey  the  commands 
of  God  to  "multiply  and  rejolenish  the  eai'th"? 
Ah,  sad  indeed !  for  as  they  have  denied  themselves 
of  the  love  of  wife  and  children,  and  renounced  all 
the  greatest  blessings  given  to  man,  so  they 
avenge    themselves    by    stirring  up  "contentions 


104  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

among  families  and  nations;  by  propagating  igno- 
rance and  superstitions;  by  teaching  the  most  hor- 
rible and  wicked  doctrines,  and  blaspheming  the 
Almighy  God,  our  Heavenly  Father.  In  their  am- 
bitious endeavors  to  subvert  mankind  to  their 
yoke,  and  to  reduce  them  to  the  level  of  the  brute, 
they  cause  war  and  persecution  in  every  part,  and, 
to  such  an  extent,  that  there  is  not  a  spot  upon 
this  beautiful  earth  on  which  any  of  them  have 
placed  their  feet  but  has  become  contaminated  by 
being  made  to  suffer  the  consequences  of  the  dis- 
cord they  incite  by  their  bigotry  and  insolence." 

That  there  is  a  better  class  of  priests,  I  admit. 
I  have  not  drawn  this  picture,  however,  myself, 
but  I  have  quoted,  and,  to  some  extent,  been  aided 
othei-wise  by  the  works  of  Don  Martin  Palma,  a 
Chilina  gentleman,  who  is  himself  a  member  of 
the  Catholic  Church,  and  who  knows  all  about  the 
terrible,  withering,  blighting  influences  of  the  con- 
fessional. 

But  no  other  fact  serves  so  well  as  a  finger-board 
to  point  to  the  truth  that  the  small  but  energetic 
Republic  of  Chili  is  gradually  growing  into  the 
light  of  freedom  and  Christian  civilization,  as  the 
one  fact  that  /lere  among  the  better  classss  of  x>eople 
the  confessional  has  lost  its  power .  I  know  of  scores 
of  refined  mothers  in  Concepcion  who  are  devout 
Catholics  who  would    sooner  bury   their  daugh- 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  105 

ters  than  see  them  go  to  the  dark  cloisters 
to  confess  to  the  cold-blooded,  villainous  priests. 
Amen. 


CHAPTKR  VIII. 

The  Altar  of  Ponitence — Mysterious  Whisperings — Faithful 
Women— The  Holy  Fight  over  the  Tablilla— The  Happy 
Priests — Their  Magnetic  Influence  over  their  Flocks — 
Their  Power  Slowly  on  the  Decline — A  Marriage  Law 
and  its  Result — Burial  of  Paupers — Blood  Money — Get- 
ting Married— A  Steel  Trap  and  a  Dollar— The  Blighting 
Influence  of  the  Church — An  Impeachment  of  Rome — In- 
fidelity—The Great  Power  Broken— The  Pope's  Embas- 
sador Sent  Home- -Not  Done  in  Ignorance — Horrible 
Image-Worship — Disgraceful  Mummery  in  a  Church — 
Saint  Peter's  Day — Children  of  Priests. 

i'lHE  most  powerful  weapon  ever  hurled  against 
any  nation  endeavoring  to  give  her  sons  and 
daughters  religious  liberty,  freedom  of 
thought  and  speech,  and  a  government  so  free  from 
internal  strife  and  dissensions  as  to  bless  the  great- 
est possible  number  of  its  subjects  with  peace  and 
prosperity,  is  that  sanctuary  of  Catholic  fanaticism 
which  they  choose  to  call  the  "altar  of  penitence." 
It  would  be  better  named  were  it  called  the  "altar 
of  superstition  and  corruption." 

It  is  a  small  wooden  box  in  a  dark  and  obscure 
corner  of  the  church,  so  constructed  that  the  father 
confessor  can  look  over  his  subjects  and,  with  his 
ear  placed  at  one  of  the  peculiarly-constructed  win- 


PAST    AND    PBE8ENT.  107 

dows,  hear  all  the  whispered  confessions,  while 

those  on'the  outside  who  may  chance  to  be  specta- 
tors remain  in  ignorance  of  what  is  said. 

Beneath  these  windows  is  a  small  wooden  stool 
about  six  inches  in  height,  over  which  the  Chilino 
penitent  throws  her  carpet,  which  she  always  carries 
with  her  to  chui'ch,  and  in  a  kneeling  attitude  upon 
this  commences  her  holy  an  1  mysterious  whisper- 
ings. 

Tliroughout  all  the  land  of  Chili,  and  perhaps 
other  nations  of  Spanish  origin,  this  stool  upon 
which  the  penitent  kneels  is  called  the  IhbliUa. 
At  about  half  past  five  o'clock  every  morning 
throughout  the  year,  the  church  bells  ring  out  in- 
vitations for  the  faithful  to  attend  mass.  I  must 
say  that  I  never  saw  so  many  devout  women  in  any 
country;  for  the  diflerent  churches  are  visited  each 
rooming,  no  matter  how  inclement  the  weather,  by 
scores  of  female  worshipers.  Our  own  American 
ladies  deem  it  a  hardship  to  attend  Sabbath-school 
once  a  week  as  early  as  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning; 
but  the  Chilino  devotee  considers  it  a  jDrivilege  to 
attend  mass  each  morning  of  the  week  and  confess 
her  sins,  before  she  has  even  had  her  breakfast.  As 
confession  is  made  after  mass,  it  often  happens 
that  the  number  of  penitents  is  great,  and  the 
squabble  for  the  tablilla  turns  into  a  field  of  battle. 

For  this  the   pious  penitent   goes  prepared,  and 


1U8  CIVHilZATION   IN   CHILI. 

woe  to  the  one  who  receives  a  favored  nod  from 
the  father  confessor  on  his  high  altar.  This,  how- 
ever frequently  happens,  and  if  the  j^riest  desires 
to  favor  some  particular  wealthy  person,  or  person 
of  great  iafiuence,  he  beckons  her  at  once  to  the 
tablilla,  and  those  who  are  nearer,  and  hoped  to  be 
first  to  confess,  must  stand  aside  and  wait,  without 
daring  to  show  any  signs  of  displeasure  oward  the 
mysterious  fraud  in  the  confessional.  But  the 
poor  culprit  thus  favored  cannot  go  on  "flowery 
beds  of  ease,"  for  the  envious  sisters  immediately 
commence  a  warfare,  consisting  of  cuffs,  kicks, 
pricks  from  pins,  scratches  of  the  nails,  crowding, 
jostling,  hair-pulling — all  of  which  is  a  holy  pas- 
time and  mirthf  J  recreation  for  the  priest. 

"This  holy  fight,"  says  Mr.  Palma,  "is  a  favor- 
ite diverson  of  the  priest  or  friar  who  sits  in  the 
confpssional,  and  the  more  arduous  the  struggle 
and  more  numerous  the  combatants,  the  great-r  is 
the  inward  satisfaction  of  the  confessor;  because 
they  show  his  great  popularity  and  the  credit  he  en- 
joys among  the  beatas,  and  how  he  is  sought  for 
and  admired  by  his  beloved  lambs. 

"In  this  merciless  conflict  there  is  no  quarter 
given,  no  consideration  held  for  one  another,  for 
each  and  every  one  is  determined  to  be  the  first  to 
gain  the  tablilla.  and  the  pious  fervor  and  the 
devout  antagonism  to  gain  it  is   the  cause  of  this 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  109 

cruel  struggle,  at  the  end  of  which  all  the  combat- 
ants come  off  with  bruises  in  various  parts  sev- 
eral pricks  with  pins,  scratches,  etc.,  affording 
matter  for  conversation  for  the  day  in  the  different 
circles  of  society,  according  to  the  number,  more  or 
less,  who  have  have  taken  part  in  this  Catholic 
contention. 

"We  make  no  false  assertion  when  we  say  that 
this  is  the  pride  of  the  priests;  for  the  height  of 
their  ambition  is  to  see  themselves,  and  be  seen  by 
other  members  of  their  fraternity,  surrounded  by  a 
lai'ge  number  of  penitents,  as  it  is  this  that  gives 
them  more  i^restige  among  themslves  and  with  the 
public,  independent  of  a  thoasand  other  perquisites 
they  receive  from  the  young  and  handsome  sinners, 
and  also  from  the  old  and  ugly  ones,  when  they 
have  anything  to  bestow. 

"In  that  holy  tribunal,  and  among  that  no  less 
holy  flock,  the  shepherd  exercises  an  impartial 
sway,  for  he  is  more  omnipotent  among  his  peni- 
tents than  the  most  powerful  and  despotic  mon- 
arch of  a  nition  of  slaves;  for  the  priest  determines, 
decides  questions  and  concedes  privileges  without 
any  one  daring  to  raise  his  voice  against  his  de- 
cisions, or  show  the  least  opposition.  *  *  *  K 
one  could  only  relate  all  the  ridiculous,  grotesque 
and  sudden  changes  in  those  who  surround  the 
confessional,    we    would    never  finish  or  cease  to 


110  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

laugh  at  the  animation  of  the  countenances  of  the 
penitents,  who  appear  absorbed  in  mystical  con- 
templation, and  bowed  down  by  t'le  eiiormous 
weight  of  their  sins,  yet  possessed  of  only  one  ex- 
clusive idea — that  is,  to  gain  occupation  of  the 
tablilla. 

"And  the  priest !  Yes,  this  is  the  interesting  per- 
sonage, a  person  much  more  iLteresting  than  a 
trainer  of  wild  beasts,  because  the  priest,  on  whom 
all  the  women  who  surround  him  fix  their  looks  of 
supplication,  draws  them,  excites  them,  ecstacises 
them  and  magnetizes  them  to  such  a  point  that 
they  depend  on  him  alone,  and  in  those  moments 
only  live  by  him  and  for  him.  A  wonderful  phe- 
nomenon !  But  a  phenomenon  not  less  evident 
because  it  happens  every  day  in  the  Catholic  con- 
gregation, but  which  we  do  not  notice  because  it 
has  become  quite  familiar." 

Such  is  Romanism  in  Chili,  penned  by  one  who 
is  a  native  of  the  country,  and  who  was  born  and 
reared  in  the  Catholic  Church.  Such  I  know  it  to 
be  by  personal  observation;  but,  as  remarked  else- 
where, this  wonderful  ^  ower  of  the  Church,  still 
wonderful  and  awful,  is,  to  an  extent,  on  the  de- 
cline. Slowly  but  surely  is  the  great  controlling 
power  of  the  nation  freeing  itself  from  the  fetters 
by  which  the  priests  and  prelates  of  Kome  have 
bound  it. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  Ill 

But,  notwithstanding,  the  Church  rules  in  Chili 
to-day  in  more  respects  than  one.  The  Government 
of  this  nation  still  pays  annually  large  sums  of 
money  to  the  legates  of  the  Pope,  whose  sole  office, 
in  return  for  their  annuities,  is  to  deceive  and  cor- 
rupt the  people;  for  either  they  never  knew  the 
Gospel  themselves,  or  they,  knowing,  are  willfully 
leading  the  people  away  from  the  teachings  of  that 
Gospel.  The  priests  have  always  enjoyed  a  com- 
plete monopoly  of  all  mamages,  burials  and  bap- 
tisms, until  the  winter  of  1883,  when  the  cemeteries 
were  made  public.  The  news  of  the  passage  of  this 
bill  killed  the  Bishop  of  Concepcion  in  fifteen 
minutes.  He  was  buried,  at  great  expense,  as 
though  he  were  a  king.  The  next  day  the  writer 
witnessed  the  burial  of  another  Roman  Catholic. 
lie  was  poor,  and  died  in  the  government  hospital 
in  Concepcion.  Although  surrounded  by  thousands 
of  his  religious  advisers,  and  nothing  had  ever 
estranged  him  from  his  Church,  not  a  soul  followed 
him  to  his  grave.  The  black-robed  prelates  who 
controlled  the  cemetery  permitted  him,  a  brother 
of  their  faith,  a  child  of  their  own  nursing,  to  be 
thrown  into  a  cart,  drawn  to  an  obscure  corner  of 
the  cemetery,  fenced  oft'  for  that  purpose,  and  to  be 
IDartly  covered  with  dirt,  with  his  feet  and  head 
protruding  from  the  ground.  Hundreds  are  buried 
in  this  manner   every  year,  as  witness   the  great 


112  CrVTLIZATION    IN   CHILI. 

number  of  skulls  and  other  human  bones  scattered 
arouud  on  the  grass. 

No  person,  no  matter  of  what  position  in  life, 
excepting  the  paupers,  could  be  buiied  in  the  cem- 
eteries without  paying  to  the  iniquitous  apostles  of 
the  Church  a  blackmail  as  fees  for  burial  service. 
For,  in  addition  to  the  cemetery  and  undertaker's 
chai'ges,  a  fee  of  eight  and  one-half  dollars  was 
always  paid  into  the  pocket  of  the  parish  priest.  It 
was  not  a  fee  for  attending  the  funeral — for  he  does 
not  do  that,  only  on  extra  occasions  and  for  extra 
pay — but  it  was  a  revenue  tax  of  sonow,  laid  upon 
bleeding  and  stricken  hearts  to  help  fill  the  pockets 
of  idle  priests. 

It  is  a  mystery  to  any  one  without  the  pale  of  the 
Romish  Church  how  such  a  thing  could  be  in  vogue 
among  a  people  of  so  much  intelligence  and  ed- 
ucation, and  of  so  much  independence  of  spirit, 
as  the  people  of  Chili.  Yet  it  is  an  undeniable 
fact.  And  more:  The  holy  marriage  relation  is 
abused  in  the  same  manner.  No  one  can  get  mar- 
ried [at  this  writing  there  is  a  bill  before  the  Senate 
to  establish  civil  marriage,  but  its  passage  is  some 
what  doubtful]  without  a  solemn  vow  to  sei^e  the 
Church  of  Rome,  unless — yes,  unless  he  has  money. 
That  settles  it — covers  over  the  sin,  and  makes  it 
all  legal  !  A  trap  baited  with  the  almighty  dollar 
will  catch  the  soul  of  almost  any  Catholic  priest  on 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  113 

earth.  If  any  evidence  were  needed  to  manifest 
the  enslaving,  crippling,  blighting  and  benumbing 
influence  of  that  Church,  to  show  how  it  stupefies 
men,  stifles  their  generous  emotions,  stultifies  and 
deadens  every  inborn  principle  of  good,  and  makes 
them  indifferent  to  the  wants  and  sufferings  of 
humanity,  one  has  onl_y  to  look  at  the  fact,  patent 
and  undeniable,  that  Chili  has  been  free  from  Spain 
since  the  year  1820,  and  still  the  laws  of  the  gov- 
ernment justify  and  enforce  such  direful  practices 
as  those  mentioned  above. 

O  Rome  !  There  are  fearful  evidences  against  you 
in  this  land  !  In  every  street,  in  every  village,  in 
every  parish,  in  every  district  and  j)rovince  are  to 
be  seen  the  workings  of  thy  power,  the  blasted 
blight  of  death  where  thy  hand  hath  swept  over. 
See  the  thousands  of  noble  sons  of  toil,  disgraced, 
compelled  to  live  in  filth  and  rags,  in  such  wretch- 
edness and  woe  that  pen  fails  to  depict  the  mis- 
ery— and  for  what  ?  Because  your  self-appointed 
advisers,  your  sons  of  Belial,  who  claim  to  be 
ministers  of  light  commissioned  to  preach  the 
Gospel  of  good  news,  to  feed  the  hungry, 
to  clothe  the  naked,  to  heal  the  sick,  to 
bind  up  the  broken-hearted — have  neglected 
them,  spurned  them,  robbed  them,  treated  them  as 
inferior  animals,  and  never  have  put  forth  one  ex- 
ertion to  ameliorate  their  condition  of  disti-ess  and 


114  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

ignorance.  Look  at  the  great  multitude  of  men 
and  women,  willing  to  do  the  most  menial  service, 
who  live  in  damp  holes  where  rats  and  lizards  and 
death  are  their  companions,  and  whose  food  is  a 
scanty  allowance  of  beans,  shell-fish  and  a  little 
parched  wheat,  and  behold  thy  work,  O  Rome! 
Look  at  the  great  number  of  prostitute  women,  who 
sell  their  virtue,  not  to  eni'obe  themselves  in  luxu- 
ries, but  to  get  the  crumbs  wherewith  to  sustain 
life,  and  the  necessary  cheap  clothing  sufficient  to 
cover  their  naked  bodies.  Ah  Rome,  you  have 
been  teaching  here !  For  hundreds  of  years  your 
masters  have  ruled  these  people!  Look  at  the  great 
number  of  old  men  and  old  women,  grandfathers 
and  grandmothers,  with  silvery  hair  and  wrinkled 
brows,  who  go  about  the  streets  in  naked  feet,  des- 
titute of  proper  clothing  and  food,  and  with  such 
expressions  of  sorrow,  heart-break  and  humility 
that  one  would  think  the  tears  of  angels  would 
moisten  their  unprotected  bodies !  Look  at  the 
great  throng  of  infants — seventy -five  out  of  every 
one  hundred  born — that  die  and  are  buried,  a  large 
portion  of  them  without  coffins  or  other  covering 
than  to  be  wrapped  iu  a  rag  and  placed  in  a  hole  in 
the  ground;  die  because  they  are  born  in  damp 
holes  where  death  is  a  terrible  victor,  and  because 
the  parents  are  in  such  ignorance  and  poverty  that 
they  cannot  properly  warm  and  nourish  their  Httle 


PAST   AND^PEESENT.  115 

bodies !  Look  at  the  great  multitudes  of  rich,  who 
have  became  so  through  other  men's  necessities, 
who  pass  by  these  familiar  scenes  daily  without 
considering  them,  without  having  heart  for  their 
distress,  or  seeking  in  any  manner  whatever  to  re- 
lieve it!  Look  at  the  great  throng  of  well-fed 
priests,  who  call  themselves  ministers  of  Him 
whose  whole  mission  was  to  elevate  fallen  human- 
ity, who  pass  by  these  scenes  without  a  word  of 
consolation,  without  a  visit  as  a  token  of  kindness 
and  love,  but  who  compel  the  payment  of  the 
death-tax  of  sorrow,  or  in  default,  refuse  burial  of 
the  dead  of  their  own  flocks,  and  who  use  every 
possible  sort  of  intrigue  and  treachery  to  wring 
from  tliis  mass  of  suffering  humanity  a  portion  of 
their  hard-earned  pennies,  so  essential  to  the  sup- 
port of  their  own  bodies!  Look,  O  Rome,  and  be- 
hold thy  work!  The  half  of  thy  c'amnable  infamy 
can  never  be  told,  for  pen  and  tongue  fail  in  their 
mission  of  justice  to  tell  of  thy  horrible  deeds. 
Had  any  other  jjotentate  under  heaven  attempted 
the  one-hundredth  part  of  the  misery  and  destruc- 
tion that  you  have  brought  upon  C  hili,  every  stream 
and  every  rivulet  would  have  been  tinged  with 
blood.  But  Rome,  you  have  been  permitted  to  doit, 
because  you  have  done  it  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  the  crucified  and  risen  Son  of   God. 

But  more:    Infidelity  is  the  great  correlative  of 


116  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

thy  work.  In  every  land  where  you  have  had 
awaj  it  has  flourished  as  mould  flourishes  in  holes 
of  dampness.  So  here,  where  you  have  so  long 
held  sway,  the  number  who  have  discarded  reli- 
gion and  are  living  and  dying  without  it  are  le- 
gion. 

But,  Rome,  the  mighty  sceptre  of  your  p  )wer  is 
broken.  Your  nefarious  practices  can  only  flourish 
where  there  is  ignorance  and  lack  of  freedom.  The 
Chilians  are  now  an  enlightened  people;  and  down 
deep  in  the  heart  of  every  one  is  an  inbred  spirit  of 
freedom — deep  indeed  in  many,  in  others  a  mere 
germ,  that  will  as  surely  find  the  light  and  bloom 
forth  into  a  perfect  flower  as  the  hidden  water 
lily,  buried  in  the  black  mire  and  slush  of  a 
pond,  pushes  forth  to  ride  upon  the  wave  a  thing 
of  beauty. 

In  1882  you  sent  an  emissary  to  this  land  as 
sindico,  to  rule  over  the  Chiu'ch  and  the  people, 
sell  indulgences  to  fill  your  coffers,  and  if  possible, 
regain  the  power  you  saw  was  slipping  away  from 
your  grasp.  It  is  true,  he  came  under  a  blind, 
wearing  the  garb  of  a  lamb  but  possessing  the  ap- 
petite and  disposition  of  a  hyena,  and  pretending 
he  had  other  business.  But  the  President  and 
members  of  Congress  in  this  Republic  saw  the 
mask,  tore  it  away,  and  in  terms  of  dignified  j)o- 
liteness  informed  him  that  he  need  stay  no  longer 


PAST    AND    PEESENT,  117 

— in  fact,  that  he  must  leave  the  country.  Your 
bishops  and  priests  howled  terribly;  they  published 
resolutions;  they  made  speeches;  thej'  draped 
themselves  in  morning;  they  pronounced  anathe- 
mas and  maledict  ons;  they  ordered  all  the  faithful 
to  do  penance,  and  they  took  collections  (another 
pretext  for  robbing  the  people)  for  forty  consecu- 
tive days  in  all  the  convents  and  churches  in  the 
land.  But  all  the  secular  newspapers,  all  the  law- 
yers, a  vast  majority  of  the  senators  and  politi- 
cians, nearly  all  of  the  merchants,  the  doctors,  the 
educators,  and  a  majority  of  educated  people-  of 
every  calling,  applauded,  in  the  highest  terms,  the 
actions  of  the  Government;  and  your  prelates, 
bishops,  priests,  a  majority  of  the  women  of  the 
nation,  and  the  great  body  of  ragmuffins  whom 
you  had  disgraced,  were  left  alone  in  their  confu- 
sion. 

It  is  comforting  indeed  to  know  that  private 
judgment  and  common  sense  so  far  prevail  among 
the  enlightened  men  of  the  nation  that  they  can- 
not be  terrified  by  the  empty  noise  of  fanatics, 
willing  to  sell  the  independence  of  their  country 
to  any  pretender  who  receives  his  authority  from 
the  Pope. 

I  wish  to  disabuse  the  minds  of  any  who  may 
read  this  terrible  record  who  may  think  that  these 
transactions  are  the  result  of  ignorance,  and  are 


118  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

only  practiced  by  the  ignorant  in  heathen  coun- 
tries. Chili  is  not  a  land  of  ignorance;  but 
it  is  a  land  of  colleges,  schools,  seminaries, 
telegraph}'  and  railroads.  Were  any  one  of 
America's  fair  sons  to  suddenly  wake  from  sleep 
and  find  himself  traveling  in  some  first-class 
passenger  car  in  Chili,  were  it  not  for  the 
language  of  the  people,  he  would  not  know 
but  what  he  was  still  in  his  own  country,  so  much 
do  they  appear  and  dress  like  our  own  gentlemen 
and  ladies.  The  priests,  far  from  being  ignorant, 
are  shrewd,  wide-awake,  and  many  of  them  well 
educated.  But  the  great  mass  of  these  people  have 
large  instinctive  natures  that  lead  them  out  to 
worship  in  some  form,  and,  as  they  have  never 
been  taught  any  better  religion,  and  look  upon  the 
priest  as  the  embassador  of  God,  clothed  with  the 
spirit  and  power  to  execute  his  divine  will;  and,  as 
it  is  the  policy  of  Rome  to  benumb  and  corrupt 
and  cripple  and  dwarf,  the  nation  has  become  full 
of  absurd,  grotesque  and  ridiculous  follies. 
Hence,  one  can  see  how  men  and  women  who 
in  all  other  matters  exercise  shrewdness  and  com- 
mon sense,  in  matters  of  religion  do  things,  in 
the  best  possible  faith,  that  look  childish,  foolish 
and  disgusting. 

On  Christmas  Eve,  every  town,  village,  city  and 
distiict  is  in   commotion.     The  churches  are  pro- 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  119 

fusely  decorated,  and  lighted  with  wax  tapers  and 
candles  numbering  thousands.  In  a  conspicuous 
place  is  an  excellent  wax  figure  of  an  infant,  rep- 
resenting the  new-born  Saviour,  surrounded  with 
stalls,  and  cattle,  and  donkeys,  and  goats,  and 
nests  of  doves,  and  the  doves  and  many  other 
things,  all  made  of  wax,  so  arranged  as  to  repre- 
sent as  nearly  as  possible  an  oriental  stable,  such 
as  one  in  which  Christ  was  born.  Here,  too,  is  a 
large  wax  figure  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  surrounded 
with  much  glory — the  whole  scene  being  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  be  picturesque  and  beauiiful. 

Before  these  images  the  immense  audience  bow 
as  silent  worshipers  till  the  hour  of  midnight. 
Then  a  priest  steps  forward  and  declu'es  that 
"now  the  man  Jesus  is  born  from  the  holy  and 
blessed  Mary,  a  perpetual  Virgin,  who  by  her 
piety  and  purit}'  of  life  has  brought  much  glory  to 
herself  and  the  world,  entitling  her  to  be  adored 
by  the  sons  of  men  forever  and  forever." 

No  sooner  is  this  announcement  made  than  the 
church  becomes  a  din  of  discordant  noises.  Many 
boys  and  young  men  have  been  appointed  to  blow 
upon  horns,  play  upon  accordions,  sing  and  halloo 
at  the  top  of  their  voices — this,  of  course,  all  varying 
according  to  the  mood  of  the  priest  and  his  flock 
of  female  advisers  assisting  him  in  the  prepara- 
tions    of     this    Pharisaical     phantasmagoria.     In 


120  CIVILIZATION   m   CHILI. 

Talcahuano,  besides  the  horns  and  bugles,  a 
committee  of  boys  were  appointed  to  bray  at  the 
top  of  their  voices,  in  resemblance  of  donkeys;  an- 
other to  bellow  like  cattle,  another  to  neigh  like 
horses,  still  another  to  crow  like  roosters— all  to 
show  the  joy  supposed  to  have  been  manifest 
among  animals  and  men  when  Christ,  the  Saviour 
of][  the  world,  was  born.  After  the  din  and  confu- 
sion of  horns  and  voices  has  somewhat  subsided, 
the  faithful  crowd  around,  kiss  the  wax  figure  of 
the  infant,  offer  presents  of  money,  to  the  great  de- 
light of  tbe  priests,  and  burn  incense;  the  boys 
withdraw  to  the  streets,  toot  their  horns,  and 
carouse  in  unmolested  enjoyment  till  dawn  of  day. 

I  imagine  some  one  saying,  with  a  supercilious 
smile,  "That  is  heathenism  in  its  worst  form,  and  if 
Chili  is  not  an  ignorant,  heathen  country,  there  are 
no  ignorant  heathens." 

Quite  to  the  contrary,  my  dear  sir!  The  better 
class  of  people  compare  favorably  with  those  in 
out-  own  sensible  America.  The  only  difference  is, 
Rome  has  lived  here  for  a  century.  It  would  be  the 
same  at  home  could  the  long-robed  gentry  of  the 
confessional  succeed  in  throttling  our  public 
schools  and  in  substituting  their  parochial  schools 
instead.  If  they  could  control  the  children  for 
four  generations,  the  transformation  would  be  com- 
plete.    Besides,  if  this  "heathenism"   is  not  Chris- 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  121 

tianity,  it  is  all  done  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and 
Christianity  gets  the  blame  or  the  credit,  as  the 
case  may  be. 

Saint  Peter's  Day  is  a  great  day  in  Chili.  Peter 
was  a  fisherman,  and  fortunately  for  priestly  ava- 
rice and  fanaticism.  Chili  has  many  miles  of  sea 
coast,  and  its  greatest  width  is  not  so  great  but  what 
a  large  portion  of  the  devotees  can  go  to  the  sea 
and  worship  this  saint  in  a  fit  and  becoming  man- 
ner. It  is  a  holiday.  In  the  morning  the  bells 
are  rung  and  mass  said  at  six,  as  usuil.  The 
church  being  decorated,  time  is  given  until  half 
past  ten  for  the  faithful  to  congregate,  when  the 
procession  is  formed  and  marched  to  the  sea.  At 
the  head  of  this  procession  is  carried  a  large  wax 
figure,  representing  the  Apostle  Peter;  and  because 
he  earned  an  honest  living  catching  fish,  the  priests 
seem  to  feel  themselves  authorized  to  earn  a  very 
dishonest  one  by  duping  and  catching  men.  With 
great  pomp  and  ceremony  the  wax  figure  is  car- 
ried to  the  water's  edge,  placed  in  a  boat,  and  held 
over  the  sea,  while  the  "holy  fathers"  go  through  a 
farcical  form  of  blessing  the  waters  that  they  may 
produce  fish  abundantly  as  food  for  the  faithful. 
The  image  is  then  set  up  in  a  conspicuous  place, 
and  gifts  become  the  order  of  the  day,  aftording  a 
large  benefit  for  the  pockets  of  the  priests. 

It  is  not  my  desire  or  intention  to  enumerate  all 


122  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

the  follies  of  Romanism  during  the  many  feast-days 
appointed  by  the  Government  or  authorized  by  the 
Church  in  the  Republic  of  Chili.  They  would  of 
themselves  aiford  subject  matter  for  a  large  book. 
With  one  more  thought,  therefore,  I  will  close  this 
chapter. 

It  often  happens,  during  the  confessions  and 
mysterious  whisperings,  that  some  over-confiding, 
robust  daughter  of  respectability  is  led  into  dis- 
grace and  ruin  by  the  crafty  priest  who  .has  denied 
himself  forever  the  blessings  of  a  wife  and  who 
seeks  to  satisfy  the  hunger  of  his  nature  through 
such  low  and  disgusting  avenues  of  sin.  I  said  the 
daughter  is  led  into  disgrace  and  ruin — not  so, 
however,  in  Romish  circles;  for  when  the  fair  one 
finds  that  such  is  the  case,  she  seeks  the  bishop 
with  her  priestly  paramour,  to  whom  they  confess 
their  sins,  receive  holy  absolution,  and  become  as 
pure  and  perfect  as  they  were  on  the  day  they  were 
born.  Bastard  children,  the  result  of  such  unholy 
relations,  are  common  in  Chili.  They  are  called 
children  of  the  confessional,  and  are  by  no  means 
held  in  disrespect. 

We  have  seen  enough.  Draw  the  curtain  and 
cover  it  over. 


CHAPTKR   IX. 

Missionary  Societies — War-Stricken  Peru — Invitations  from 
United  States  of  (Jolombia — Po)r  Bolivia— Ecuador — Mis- 
sions in  Chili — Index  to  South  America — A  Nation  in 
Darkness — Rev.  William  Taylor  and  His  Missions— Per- 
sonal Work  in  Concepcion — Progress  of  the  Schools — Five 
Persons  Converted  —  Wm.  Taylor  No  Organizer — The 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

IT  is  now  proper  to  call  attention  to  what  is  be- 
ing done  for  the  religious  amelioration  of  this 
^^ country.  Our  friends  in  England  and  the 
United  States  who  direct  great  missionary  eater- 
prises  are  certainly  aware  that  in  this  vast  conti- 
nent, of  seven  and  one-half  million  square  miles  of 
fertile  soil,  the  light  of  religious  freedom  has 
scarcely  ever  penetrated.  While  they  are  direct- 
ing their  efforts  to  the  heathen  millions  in  dark 
Africa,  in  China,  in  India,  thirty  million  of  be- 
nighted pagans  are  living  and  dying  without  a 
gleam  of  truth  on  the  very  threshold  of  their  ex- 
istence. While  they  are  interested  in  the  glowing 
reports  from  those  far-away  lands,  their  very 
neighbors  are  living  under  the  bans  of  a  Church 
that  bears  the  name  of  the  cross  only  to  degrade, 
cripple,  blight  and  enslave  the  people.     Look  at 


124  OIVILEZATION   IN    CHILI. 

war-stricken  Peru!  With  a  population  of  more 
than  3,000,000  souls;  with  the  greatest  natural  re- 
sources of  any  nation  perhaps  in  the  world;  with 
immense  mines  from  which  wealth  is  shoveled  up 
and  counted  by  the  million;  with  a  vast  expanse 
of  broad  acres,  a  fertile  soil,  and  a  salubrious  clime 
that  produces  food  for  man  and  beast  in  spontan- 
eity— she  has  not  a  solitary  minister  of  the  gospel*  to 
proclaim  the  good  news  of  salvation  by  faith.  Look 
at  Colombia!  Nestled  almost  in  the  very  lap  of 
the  United  States,  with  a  constitution  that  guar- 
antees religious  liberty,  freedom  of  speech  and  of 
press,  she  thus  invites  her  enlightened  neighbor  to 
show  her  more  plainly  the  way  of  life!  "What  are 
the  facts?  Three  million  of  souls  steeped  in  ig- 
norance and  crime,  priest-ridden,  cureed  with 
wealth  and  revolutions,  are  crying  for  light. 
Constitutional  enactments  have  removed  every 
bairrier.  •  The  way  has  been  made  plain.  "Come 
and  help  us,"  is  the  cry  that  rolls  up  to  the  very 
vault  of  heaven  itself  and  extends  outward  to  the 
whole  civilized  world.  What  is  the  answer?  The 
Truth  is  proclaimed  to  the  natives  at  one  solitary 
mission  post  in  the  whole  nation,  and  to  the  English 
speaking  residents  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama. 
With  these  exceptions,  the  call,  long  and  oft-re- 
i:)eated,  has  not  been  answered.     Why?  Truly,  not 

♦Since  writing  the  above  two  ministers  have  located  at  CaJao. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  125 

because  of  climatic  influences,  for  Colombia's  in- 
habitants experience  in  one  day's  travel  all  the  cli- 
mates of  the  world;  and  besides,  the  vast  majority 
of  the  people  reside  on  plateaus  at  such  an  elevation 
as  to  experience  delightful,  temperate  climes.  Bo- 
gota, the  capital,  is  almost  'J, 000  feet  above  sea 
level.  The  eastern  Cordillera  consists  almost 
wholly  of  a  vast  system  of  table  lands,  cool  and 
healthful,  where  white  men  flourish  as  vigorously 
as  they  do  in  Europe  and  America.  Cattle,  horses, 
wheat,  corn,  tobacco,  coffee,  cocoa,  sugar,  plan- 
tains, cinnamon,  cedar,  mabogany,  gold,  silver, 
lead,  iron,  coal,  copi^er,  emeralds  and  pearls  are 
among  the  productions  that  enrich  the  people. 
Truly,  it  is  a  most  favorable  field  for  missionary  en- 
terprise, and  it  ought  to  be  used. 

Behold  poor  Bolivia !  Like  the  lazy  swine,  she 
wallows  in  her  own  mire,  and  knows  not  the  con- 
dition of  her  own  filth.  Like  her  sister  states,  she 
is  an  oligarchy,  bearing  the  name  of  a  ref>ublic, 
but  governed  by  a  degraded,  ignorant  aristocracy. 
Like  all  nations  of  Spanish  origin,  the  breath  of 
Rome  has  long  been  there,  blighting  and  withering. 
Contumely  has  met  and  crushed,  and  will  long  con- 
tinue to  meet  and  crush  everything  that  lifts  its 
voice  or  raises  its  head  to  favor  the  light  of  reason 
and  freedom  of  conscience.     And  nothing  is  being 


126  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

done,  nor  is  likely  to  be  done  soon,  to  ameliorate 
the  condition  of  the  people.     God  lielp  them! 

Ecuador  is  no  better.  Its  600,000  white  i^eople, 
700,000  Indians,  8,000  Africans,  and  35,000  Mesti- 
zoes are,  all  alike,  living"  under  a  moral  cloud  of 
midnij^ht  darkness.  Not  a  solitary  voice  has  ever 
appeared  among  them  to  invite  them  to  a  higher 
plane  of  manhood.  With  the  exception  of  a  few 
of  th'^  most  enlightened  priests  and  leading  men  of 
the  nation,  they  have  never  heard  of  any  other  way 
of  life.  A  million  and  a  half  of  souls  ihere  have 
never  seen  a  Bible  or  heard  of   a  (lOspel   of  love. 

In  Chili,  where  all  people  are  encouraged  to 
pursue  their  own  religious  tenets,  there  is  a  mere 
handful  of  earnest  men  and  women  engaged  in 
evangelical  missionary  effort.  The  Presbyterians 
are  in  the  lead  They  maintain  three  native 
churches,  under  four  missionary  pastors,  two  mis- 
sion schools,  and  two  periodicals.  Rev.  William 
Taylor's  workers  are  directing  sis  mission  schools, 
and  maintaining  preaching  in  the  English  language 
at  five  of  these  points,  and  a  G-erman  organizat  on 
in  the  interior  numbering  about  s'xty-tive  members. 
Besides  these  there  may  be  half  a  dozen  other 
places  where  preaching  is  ca  ried  on  in  a  foreign 
language. 

Thus,  from  Panama  to  Terra  del  Fuega,  those 
who  are  scattering  the  blessings  of  religious  truth 


PAST   AND    PRESENT.  127 

can  be  counted  upon  the  fingers  of  a  man's  hands; 
and  this  is  a  fair  index  of  what  is  being  done — or 
rather,  what  is  not  being  done — in  all  South  Amer- 
ica. What  do  our  missionary  societies  mean  ?  Are 
these  vast  fields— where  there  is  no  Sabbath,  no 
Gospel,  no  moral  sentiment — to  be  neglected?  Are 
the  workers  so  few,  the  supplies  so  scarce,  that  at 
least  the  wailing  fields  shall  not  be  harvested  ? 
Shall  we  let  thirty  million  souls  perish  in  ignorance, 
vice  and  superstition,  without  an  effort  to  better 
their  condition?  Shall  we  let  them  live  and  train 
up  their  sons  and  daughters  for  generations  to 
come  in  the  same  paths  of  moral  darkness  that  has 
long  kept  this  whole  continent  a  wilderness,  with- 
out roads,  without  commerce,  without  agriculture, 
without  factories,  and  with  an  average  of  only  three 
and  one-half  souls  to  every  square  mile  of  territory  ? 
Truly,  the  call  is  very  great.  From  every  valley, 
from  every  mountain  slope,  from  every  plateau,  it 
rises  from  beneath  the  great,  overshadowing 
clouds,  and  says:  "Come  !"  Two  hundred  earnest, 
Christian  men  and  women — teachers  and  preachers 
— would  no  more  than  supply  the  open  fields  on 
the  Pacific  sloj)es. 

"The  poor  peojile,"  says  Rev.  Dr.  Trumbull, 
who  has  given  the  best  years  of  his  life  to  direct 
missionary  effort  on  this  coast,  "the  poor  are  but 
one  degree  removed  from  abject  heathenism.  They 


128  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

do  not  know  the  way  of  the  Lord.  They  are  igno- 
rant of  the  grace  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ.  They 
are  strangers  to  the  sanctifying  power  of  truth. 
Poor,  degraded,  untaught  children  of  nature,  how 
shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher;  and  how  shall 
any  preach  unless  they  be  sent  ?" 

In  1877,  Kev.  William  Taylor  visited  nearly  all 
the  countries  of  South  America.  He  promised 
himself  that,  by  the  grace  of  God,  he  would^'under- 
take  the  Christian  education  of  all  the  nations 
willing  to  receive  instruction.  Accordingly,  he 
arranged  with  the  people  in  different  places  on  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts  to  send  them  teachers. 
The  sum  total  of  his  plans  is  about  as  follows :  The 
people  of  these  states,  many  of  them,  are  abundant 
ly  able  to  educate  their  cbildien;  they  are  also  will- 
ing and  even  anxious  to  bring  about  such  great 
desiderata;  as  theii*  schools  and  teachers,  native  of 
the  country,  are  necessarily  as  yet  inferior,  they  can- 
not in  consequence  offer  superior  educational  ad- 
vantages. This  deficiency  he  supplies  by  furnish- 
ing teachers,  who  instruct  the  youth  first  iu  the 
sciences,  and  then,  as  soon  as  possible,  in  matters 
pertaining  to  religion.  The  teaching  is  all  done 
in  the  English  language,  which  the  natives,  as  a 
rule,  are  anxious  to  learn.  These  teachers  sail 
under  no  false  colors,  but  let  the  people  know  at 
once  that  they  are  Protestant  missionary  teachers, 


PAST   AND    PRESENT.  129 

but  generally   consider  it  wise  for  a  time  to   teach 
no  church  creeds. 

Parents  are  attracted  by  the  superior  advantages 
these  schools  offer  for  the  education  of  their  chil- 
dren; but  they  are  at  first  somewhat  reluctant 
about  sending  them  to  Protestant  schools;  for,  be 
it  remembered  that  Protestantism  is  not  at  all  popu- 
lar, even  with  the  most  radical  of  the  progressive 
liberal  party.  But  upon  hearing  good  reports 
from  the  few  who  have  ventui-ed  to  send  their 
children,  and  learning  that  no  allusion  is  made  to 
the  dogmas  of  the  Catholic  Church ,  or  no  attempt 
made  to  enforce  upon  them  Protestant  religion, 
the  schools  quickly  fill  up  with  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  wealthy  and  influential  of  the 
land.  In  time  the  sons  and  daughters  of  very 
stiff  and  decidedly  zealous  Eoman  Catholics  are 
enrolled  upon  the  school  register;  the  singing  of 
religious  songs  is  introduced;  the  Bible  is  read  and 
explained  and  the  children  induced  to  attend  Sab- 
bath-school and  even  di\4ne  service  on  the  Sabbath. 
By  careful  management  and  painstaking  to  not 
mention  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  the 
religious  exercises  become  popular  with  all  of  the 
students.  The  children  of  Chili  dearly  love  to 
sing,  and  through  this  alone  many  of  them  will  be 
finally  led  to  God. 

No  matter  how  great  or  how  little  a  young  man 


130  CrVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

or  young  woman  leaving  these  schools  has  been 
impressed  religiously,  he  goes  out  a  confirmed 
friend  of  the  missionary  with  all  his  prejudices 
against  Protestantism  scattered  to  the  winds. 
This  is  a  great  thing,  and  will,  in  due  time,  open 
the  way  for  direct  evangelical  missionary  labor 
that  could  not  now  possibly  be  accomplished. 

In  the  year  1883,  I  commenced  the  school  year 
at  Concepcion,  the  third  town  in  importance  in  all 
of  Chili,  as  successor  to  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Jeflrey,  A. 
M.,  who  had  been  director  of  "Colejio  Americano" 
for  some  time  previous.  At  half-past  eight  in  the 
morning  I  struck  the  bell,  and  a  crowd  of  boys  as- 
sembled, nearly  all  of  whom  were  the  sons  of 
wealthy  and  influential  Catholics  in  southern 
Chili.  1  passed  around  a  number  of  Gospel 
Hymns  and  Sacred  Songs,  and  announced  that  we 
would  sing 

"I  am  so  glad  that  our  Father  in  heaven 
Tells  of  his  love  in  the  Book  he  has  given." 

Miss  Lelia  Waterhouse,  a  missionary  of  great 
zeal,  who  almost  gave  her  life  in  this  work  by  con- 
stant and  continued  effort  and  hard  labor,  had 
spent  two  years  in  teaching  these  boys  to  sing; 
consequently,  this  song  was  not  new  to  them,  and 
they  all  joined  in  the  singing.  Their  voices 
sounded  so  strangely  sweet,  as,  in  broken  English, 
they  rang  out  the  chorus, 


PAST   AKD   PRESENT.  131 

"I  am  so  glad  that  Jesus  loves  me," 
that  I  could  not  restrain  the  tears.  When  this 
school  first  commenced,  it  would  have  been  an  im- 
possibility to  have  taught  these  Christian  songs; 
such  an  act  would  have  been  a  blow  that  would 
have  struck  the  school  to  its  death.  But  now  they 
not  only  sing  with  fervor,  but  they  join  in  repeat- 
ing the  Lord's  Prayer.  I  read  and  explain  to 
them  the  Scriptures,  take  many  of  them  with  me 
to  the  Sabbath-school,  and  quite  a  number  are 
regular  attendants  of  our  preaching  ser-vaces. 

In  ohe  department  for  girls  and  young  women  the 
same  instructions  have  been  given,  but  with  re- 
sults of  much  greater  imjDortance;  for  from  that 
school  five  bright  and  precious  girls  were  led  into 
the  light  of  the  Gospel,  mainly  through  the  eflbrts 
of  Miss  AVaterhouse.  These  are  all  members  of 
our  little  church,  and  two  of  them  have  risen  to 
important  positions  in  our  schools — one  as  primary 
teacher  of  English  and  interpreter  in  the  female 
department,  and  the  other  as  teacher  of  Spanish 
and  interpreter  in  the  department  for  bo^'s. 

With  these  results  obtained  in  so  short  a  time, 
and  our  schools  still  continuing  to  grow  in  favor 
with  the  masses  of  the  people,  and  with  the  same 
encouraging  results  from  other  places  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  Dr  Taylor's  mis- 
sions in  Chili  and  other  portions  of  South  Ameri- 


132  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

ca  will  be  a  means  of  gathering  into  the  Church  a 
great  throng  of  those  who  have  been  saved  through 
the  atoning  power  of  the  great  Redeemer. 

The  following  letter  from  Mr.  Taylor,  dated  at  Co- 
quimbo,  Chili,  September  1st,  1883,  will  give  his 
opinion  as  to  the  great  importance  of  school-room 
work  in  connection  with  evangelical  missionaiy  ef- 
forts: 

"  Dear  Brother:  God  has  a  great  work  for  us 
to  do  in  Chili;  and,  though  it  will  take  time,  the 
most  direct  way  of  introducing  the  Gospel  to  the 
hearts  of  the  people  of  South  American  nations  is 
thi'ough  the  school-house.  They  despise  a  pro- 
fessional padre,  but  have  a  high  respect  for  a  pro- 
fessor of   the  sciences.      We  want  a  great  number 

of  professors,  who,   like  you  and  Bro.  S ,  can 

both  teach  and  preach. 

' '  Our  workers  in  Pernambuco  are  getting  on  better 
and  are  quite  hopeful. 

"Bro.  Nelson,  at  Para,  is  gettino;  on  grandly. 
He  has  organized  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
and  has  a  good  congregation;  says  he  has  the  best 
congregational  singing  he  ever  heard — all  native 
Brazillians.  His  brother,  whose  wife  died  there 
of  yellow  fever,  will,  D.  V.,  retm-n  this  fall,  to 
teach  English  to  the  natives  and  learn  Portuguese 
language  for  a  year,  when  he  will  re-open  theii' 
college.     They  are  bound  to  leaven  the  valley  of 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  133 

the  Amazon,  large  as  it  is,  with  the  Methodist 
'orospel;  and  that,  too,  very  largely  will  be  accom- 
plished through  the  school-house." 

But  Dr.  Taylor's  missions  in  South  America  ex- 
ist under  many  disadvantages.  The  Doctor,  one 
of  the  best  and  wisest  missionaries  in  all  the  world, 
is  no  organizer.  There  is  no  head  nor  tail  to  his 
institution.  Every  mission  post  is  a  kind  of  an 
independent  monarchy,  and  the  missionary  does  as 
he  pleases  and  reports  to  no  one.  From  these 
conditions  arise  serious  consequences;  for  occa- 
sionally a  worker  is  sent  into  these  fields  wholly 
incompetent  for  the  labor,  with  none  but  mercenary 
desires,  and,  as  there  is  no  one  to  remove  him,  the 
work,  if  not  wholly  ruined,  is  placed  in  bad  odor 
among  the  people.  But,  as  Mr.  Taylor  never  in- 
tended that  his  self-supporting  missions  should 
have  a  separate  existence  from  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  he  is  not  answerable  for  these 
things.  The  blame  rests  with  the  Church.  It 
ought  to  farther  these  societies  and  organize  them 
under  its  own  colors.  The  work  is  well  and  faith- 
fully done,  and  all  the  workers  at  present,  so  far  as 
known,  are  earnest,  self-sacrificing,  educated  men 
and  women.  It  is  a.  shame  that  the  Methodist 
Church  does  not  sustain  one  mission  field  on  the 
western  coast  of  South  America. 

But  Doctor  Taylor's  work  in  South   America  is 


134  CITILIZATION   IN   OHILI. 

not  self-supporting.  Outside  of  Santiago  College 
there  is  not  a  teacher  or  preacher  on  the  whole 
coast  but  what  is  compelled  to  live  from  hand  to 
mouth.  Poor  Miss  Waterhouse,  after  laboring  for 
years,  was  compelled  to  go  home  in  a  sailing  ves- 
sel. Miss  Esther  Spink  and  Prof.  F.  D.  Newhou^e, 
both  retiring  from  the  work  in  ill-health,  went 
home  on  borrowed  money.  There  is  no  provision 
for  the  care  of  the  sick.  It  is  actually  "root  hog, 
or  die,"  as  the  good  Doctor  expressed  it  himself. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Collier,  a  noble  minister  who  wore 
himself  out  in  this  work,  took  passage  on  a  sailing- 
vessel  for  the  United  States  because  he  had  not 
the  means  to  pay  his  way  on  a  steamer.  In  mid- 
ocean  he  died  of  dysentery,  simply  because  there 
were  no  medical  attendants,  which  can  always  be 
found  on  all  steamships  carrying  passengers.  Some 
of  the  workers  are  compelled  to  dress  shabbily, 
and  every  school  on  the  whole  coast  is  biuxlened 
with  debt.  If  simply  existing  is  self-suj^porf,  then 
the  workers  are  supported.  But  there  is  not  a  sol- 
itary' condition  of  this  work  but  that  could  be 
maintained  with  equal  or  even  better  success  under 
the  auspices  of  a  missionary  society  at  home.  I  do 
not  criticise  Mr.  Taylor.  He  has  done  what  the 
Methodist  Church  has  neglected  to  do — sent  earn- 
est men  and  women  to  this  continent  to  labor  for 
the  salvation   of  benighted  souls,  and   they  have 


PAST    AND    PKESENT.  135 

lived  and  done  good  work;  but  their  sacrifices  have 
been  both  great  and  humiliating.  They  ought  not 
to  bear  all  the  burden. 


CHAPTKR    X. 

Silk-hat  Aristocracy — Evidence  of  a  Gentleman — The  Differ- 
ence—The Price  of  Things — Second-class  Fare— A  Memor- 
able Eide — The  Boston  Man  and  the  Fat  Woman — His  De- 
feat— Chilian — An  Attentive  Landlady — A  Good  Luncheon 
Horse  Sausage— Keligious  Women — Irreligious  Men — The 
Landlady's  Priest — How  He  Converted  an  Englishman — 
A  New  Interest  in  a  Circus — The  Parade — Plaza  de  Armes — 
A  Mother  Desires  to  Sell  us  her  Daughter — The  Theater — 
The  Clown — Tight-Rope  Dancers— Money  Made  Easily. 

"W|N  Chili  there  are  notably  two  classes  of  society. 
^1  If  a  man  wears  a  silk  hat  and  carries  a  pretty 
^A  cane,  it  is  presumable  that  he  belongs  to  the 
better  class.  If  he  has  a  servant  to  wait  on  him  at 
home,  or  to  cany  his  small  luggage  when  he  trav- 
els; if  he  emerges  from  a  first-class  railway  coach 
and  takes  a  first-class  carriage  without  inquiing 
the  price;  if  he  settles  with  his  landlord  by  handing 
him  a  large  bill  without  a  question,  and  shoves  the 
returned  small  change  in  his  vest  pocket  without 
deigning  to  count  it,  there  is  no  doubt  but  what 
he  is  a  Gaballero — a  gentleman  of  means  and  in- 
fluence. But  should  a  man  be  fortunate  enough 
to  have  the  silk  hat  and  the  pretty  cane,  and  un- 
fortunate enough  not  to  be  able  to  pay  first-class 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  137 

rates,  or  to  employ  a  ragged  man  to  carry  his  bun- 
dle, it  is  certain  that  he   is   not   admitted  into  the 

first  circles.     The  Rev.  Mr.  Mc ,  my  neighbor, 

a  man  of  great  ability  and  worth,  was  given  the 
opprobrious  name  of  vaquero — cowboy — because 
he  carried  home  each  morning  a  pitcher  of  milk. 
Even  his  silk  hat  and  polished  cane,  coupled  with 
very  polished  manners,  would  not  save  him. 

The  man  who  makes  your  shoes,  the  tailor  who 
fits  your  clothes,  the  woman  who  irons  your  shirt, 
vn\\  each  charge  for  his  labor  according  to  your 
cloth.  If  you  are  a  cahallero,  or  pretend  to  be  one, 
the  price  will  be  enormous;  if  you  are  a  laborer, 
a  tradesman,  or  a  clerk,  it  will  be  moderate.  If 
you  go  to  the  market  in  person  to  purchase  a  steak, 
it  will  cost  you  forty  cents  a  pound;  if  you  send 
your  servant  he  will  purchase  the  same  quality  for 
half  the  money.  The  doctor  who  paid  a  profes- 
sional visit  to  my  family,  requiring  his  services  for 
thirty  minutes,  sent  in  his  bill  for  seventy-five  dol- 
lars; but  when  informed  that  I  Avas  poor,  wrote 
me  a  polite  note,  saying  that  it  was  of  no  import- 
ance; I  could  pay  him  whatever  I  thought  proper. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  a  person  from  Christian 
America  should  for  a  moment  debate  the  question 
of  first  and  second-rate  railway  fare  when  traveling 
and  short  of  funds.  But  I  found  myself  doing 
that  same  thing  when  I  went  to  Chilian.     When  I 


138  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILT. 

left  home  I  was  quite  certain  that  second-class  pas- 
sage would  serve  me  very  well.  When  I  reached 
the  depot  I  was  somewhat  in  doubt,  and  concluded 
to  hastily  inspect  the  waiting  cars.  They  were  all 
manufactured  in  the  United  States,  and  one  looked 
quite  as  comfortable  as  the  other  from  an  outside 
view,  but  when  I  peeped  into  the  second-class  car 
all  doubts  vanished — being  confronted  with  things 
about  as  follows: 

1.  My  olfactories  were  regaled  with  an  unpleas- 
ant odor. 

2.  A  dirty,  pock-marked  man,  with  wartery 
eyes  and  a  sore  face,  lying  full  length  upon  one  of 
two  long  benches  extending  lengthwise  through 
the  car. 

3.  A  slovenly-looking  woman  seated  on  the 
floor  in  the  i^assage-way,  surrounded  by  children 
from  whose  heads  she  was  picking  j)arasitical  ani- 
mals, and  cracking  them  between  her  thumb  nails. 

I  rode  on  a  first  class  ticket;  but  I  shall  never 
forget  that  ride!  The  fat  woman  occupying  the 
seat  just  behind  me  will  never  forget  it!  The 
traveling  salesman  from  Boston  will  never  forget 
it!  It  was  a  memorable  day!  I  swallowed  five 
hundred  pounds  of  dust,  more  or  less.  It  was  m 
the  midst  of  the  dry  season,  no  rain  having  fallen 
for  mouths,  and  the  on-rushing  train  caiiied  with 
it  swirling  clouds  of   dust  as  though  it  were  a  cy- 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  139 

clone.  The  fat  woman's  servant  fanned  her 
vi^rously.  She  sneezed,  she  coughed,  she  swal- 
lowed dust,  she  cried,  she  swore  terribly  in  per- 
fectly good  Spanish,  she  vomited,  and  then  she 
cried  and  coughed  and  swore  again. 

This  was  great  fun  for  the  man  from  Bostom;  he 
winked  knowingly,  chuckled  behind  his  hat,  and 
laughed  outright,  at  which  the  fat  woman  looked 
daggers.  ''Been  traveling  in  this  country  for  ten 
years;  got  entirely  used  to  it.  'Tell  ye,  though  it's 
a  pic-nic  to  watch  some  of  the  high-steppers.  Ha, 
ba,  ha,  ha,  ha!"  said  he,  looking  at  the  fat  wom- 
an. 

"D'ye  see  those  mountains,  there?  Ah!  here's 
the  man  with  ice-cream — ha!  ha!  Funny  ice-cream. 
Tell  ye,  though,  nothing  but  a  tumbler  full  of 
snow  with  cinnamon  water  on  it — ha,  ha,  ha,  ha! 
Best  kind  of  thing  to  take,  though,  to  wash  down 
the  dust  when  a  man's  traveling — ha,  ha,  ha!  Look 
at  that  fool  woman!  Mountains  very  beautiful," 
he  contiuued.  "D'ye  see  that  large  canon  running 
away  up  between  the  snow  peaks  ?  Two  robbers 
lived  there  in  a  den  and  carried  on  the  business  till 
they  had  killed  seventeen  men,  and — good  heavens ! 
ha,  ha,  ha! hear  that  woman  swear — ha,  ha,  ha,  ha, 
ha-a!  The'  tried  to  take  'em  hundred  of  times,  but 
couldn't  do  it— couldn't  find  out  where  they  had 
gone,  where  the  den  was,  ye  see.     Have  another 


140  CIVILIZATION    IN   CHILI. 

glass  ice-cream?  ha,  ha,  ha!  But  finally  one 
young  fellow  went  out  all  alone  an'  brought  'em 
both  in  dead  on  an  old  cart—  ha,  ha,  ha,  ha-o!  My! 
ha,  ha,  ha,  he-e — see  that  woman  (pointing  right  to- 
ward her)  ha,  ha,  ba !" 

"Bobo  de  nacimiento!"  (born  a  fool)  cried  she, 
hurling  at  him  her  bottle  of  cologne,  which,  while 
his  head  was  well  thrown  back  and  his  mouth 
stretched  with  boisterous  laughter,  struck  him  with 
a  thud  squarely  in  the  face.  How  his  poor  nose 
did  bleed!  How  those  unfeeling  Spaniards  did 
roar  and  shake  with  laughter!  That  man  from 
Boston  said  something,  something  that  wouldn't 
sound  well  to  hear  it  read.  But  the  more  he  said 
the  more  the  other  passengers  laughed;  they 
laughed  till  he  left  the  car,  and  continued  to 
laugh  till  they  could  laugh  no  more.  Even  the 
fat  woman  forgot  her  sorrows  and  joined  in  the 
laugh,  in  spite  of  the  dust. 

Chilian  (pronounce  Chill-yan)  is  an  inland  town 
of  about  twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  situ- 
ated in  the  great  agricultural  district,  close  up  to 
the  foot-hills  of  the  Andes  Mountains.  Like  all 
small  towns  in  South  America,  it  is  so  ugly  that  it 
is  wonderful.  The  houses  are  all  one  story  in 
height,  made  mostly  of  adobe,  have  far-projecting 
eaves  with  no  cornice,  and  the  walls  are  thick  and 
damp.     In  company  with  the  man  from  Boston, 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  141 

another  American  and  an  Englishman,  I  repaired 
to  the  Hoted  Finances  del  Ferrocaril,  and  secured  a 
cool,  comfortable  room. 

The  landlady  was  all  attention.  She  sent  a 
swarm  of  servants  to  attend  to  our  various  wants, 
and  as  soon  as  we'had  our  bath,  and  were  well  cur- 
ried down  by  the  boot-black  and  the  man  whose 
business  it  was  to  dust  our  clothes,  she  invited  us 
to  an  inviting  lunch  of  splendid  salads,  cold  meats 
(one  dish  of  which  we  afterwards  learned  was 
canned  horse,  right  from  France,  but  which  was 
very  palatable  as  long  as  we  didn't  know  what  it 
was)  and  bread.  She  brought  a  large  decanter  of 
wine,  filled  goblets  to  the  brim  and  drank  our 
health.  Noticing  that  two  of  us  did  not  drink,  she 
inquired  at  once  if  we  were  Protestants,  assiu'ing 
us  at  the  same  time  that  she,  though  a  professed 
Catholic,  had  great  regard  for  all  Protestant  peo- 
ple. Her  priest  was  also  a  man  of  large  views,  as 
well  as  of  great  social  qualifications,  and  he  would 
only  be  too  happy  to  meet  us  and  entertain  us  as 
became  a  Christian  gentleman;  and,  as  he  was  to 
dine  with  her,  she  hoped  that  we  would  all  get 
well  acquainted  and  spend  a  pleasant  evening, 
long  to  be  remembered;  for  she  was  so  cetain  that 
el  Sacerdoti  was  the  jolliest  and  best  man  in  the 
world. 

The  truth  is,  our   landlady  was  very  religious. 


142  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI, 

as  are  all  the  women  in  Chili — that  is,  they  have 
an  unswerving  devotion  for  their  priests.  I  can- 
not account  for  it,  but  it  is  a  noticeable  fact  that 
nearly  all  the  women  of  the  educated  classes  are 
wonderfully  devoted  to  the  Church,  while  nearly 
all  the  men  have  not  the  slightest  confidence  in  either 
the  priest  or  the  religion  he  professes.  When  the 
bill  for  granting  civil  mai'riage  was  being  discussed 
in  the  Chilian  Senate,  the  priests  scorned  the  coun- 
try to  secure  signers  to  a  petition  asking  that  it 
be  defeated.  Seventeen  thousand  ladies  and  fifteen 
gentlemen  signed  the  petition;  and  that  may  be 
considered  a  fair  index  for  the  ratio  of  devotion  to 
the  Church  throughout  the  nation.  But  Oh,  how 
wonderfully  devout  the  ladies  are !  They  sleep  re- 
ligiously; they  think  religiously;  they  talk  relig- 
iously; they  eat  religiously;  they  gossip  religiously; 
they  profane  the  name  of  God  religiously  (I  never 
saw  a  Chilian  who  thought  it  harmful  to  swear); 
they  lie  religiously;  and  some  of  them  even  steal 
in  the  name  of  their  priest  and  their  religion. 

When  the  dinner  hour  arrived,  our  landlady's 
priest  was  on  hand.  He  was  certainly  all  that  she 
had  claimed  for  him — a  jolly  fellow.  When  intro- 
duced to  us,  he  declared,  as  he  almost  staggered 
toward  us,  with  a  bottle  of  wine,  that  we  should 
drink  his  health.  He  knew,  he  said,  that  we  were 
Protestants,  but  it  made  no  difference;   they  were 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  143 

good  people  here,  but  they  would  have  a  hard  time 
hereafter,  aud  so  he  was  going  to  be  merry  with 
them.  "Besides,"  he  said,  addressing  the  Boston 
man,  who  spoke  excellent  Spanish,  "if  I  could  talk 
to  you  fellows  an  hour  over  a  good  glass  of  wine, 
I  could  convince  you  that  ours  is  the  true  Church." 
The  Boston  man  was  about  to  demur,  but  Jones, 
the  Englishman,  said,  with  a  wink,  that  he  was 
certain  of  it.  "We  have  never  heard  your  side  of 
it,  yet,"  said  he. 

"That's  it,"  said  the  priest;  "people  are  Protes- 
tants because  they  have  never  known  the  revealed 
truths  of  the  holy  Church  !  Think  a  moment,  gen- 
tlemen, of  her  greatness  !  how  she  is  extending 
her  power  !  how  she  has  sent  emissaries  to  every 
part  of  the  world  !  Think  what  her  missionaries 
have  done,  what  they  have  sacrificed,  the  king- 
doms and  nations  they  have  built  up  and  strength- 
ened !  Do  you  think  it  possible  to  have  accom- 
plished so  much  if  ours  had  been  anything  but  the 
true  Church  ?" 

**Ah  !  father,"  said  Jones,  producing  from  his 
coat-pocket  a  flask  of  brandy,  "you  talk  wisely,  and 
there  is  much  reason  in  your  remarks;  but  pray, 
drink  with  me  the  rose-colored  nectar  of  my  own 
native  land,  that  I  may  be  cheered  to  listen  to  more 
of  your  manly  talk." 

Jones  actually  filled  the  glass  to  the  brim ,  and 


144  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

the  half-drunken  man  in  the  black  gown,  puffed 
with  what  he  believed  to  be  a  victoiy  within  easy 
grasp,  actually  swallowed  it  at  a  quaff.  In  thirty 
minutes'  time  he  was  dead  drunk  in  the  landlady's 
own  boudoir. 

After  dinner  our  attention  was  arrested  by  hear- 
ing music  in  the  streets,  and  stepping  to  the  door 
we  witnessed  the  street  parade  of  what  was  adver- 
tisedas  " Girco Esjylendido" — "magnificent  circus." 

"A  great  and  priceless  thing  is  a  new  interest!" 
How  that  parade  cheered  me!  How  it  did  take 
possession  of  me!  How  it  did  bring  to  my  re- 
membrance the  childhood  days,  when,  in  bare  feet, 
I  walked  twelve  miles,  and  spent  the  only  twenty- 
five  cents  I  had  ever  possessed  for  the  then  priceless 
sight  of  seeing  a  vulgar  clown  and  looking  at  the 
elephant!  And  oh,  what  music!  How  it  delighted 
me !  warmed  me !  thrilled  me !  lifted  me  up  and 
made  me  cry  (with  laughter) !  Jones,  the  English- 
man, cried,  too;  and  we  all  of  one  accord  agi'eed 
to  attend  the  circus.  While  we  were  reading  the 
handbills  announcing  the  great  feats  of  "those 
kingly  performers,"  whose  "reputation"  was 
"word- wide,"  and  whose  "fame"  had  "never  been 
equaled,"  that  music  kept  ringing  in  oui'  ears. 

True,  there  were  only  two  horns  and  a  large 
drum,  and  one  of  the  horns  was  cracked;  but  what 
of  that!    Can't  a  fellow  appreciate  small  things! 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  145 

If  there  had  been  anything  in  that  parade  except 
the  music,  the  dog-cart,  and  the  black  driver  sit- 
ting behind,  it  would  have  spoiled  it.  And  cer- 
tainly, if  downright,  hearty  laughter,  long-con- 
tinued and  oft-repeated,  is  an  indication  of  appre- 
ciation, then  the  whole  affair  was  most  highly  ai)- 
preciated . 

Whiling  away  an  hour  or  two  prior  to  going 
to  what  we  knew,  at  best,  would  be  nothing  but  a 
coarse  and  vulgar  entertainment,  but  which  we 
had  determined  to  attend  in  order  to  see  all  sides 
of  Chilian  life,  we  strolled  down  to  the  Plaza  df 
Armes.  It  was  evening.  The  city  band  was  dis- 
coursing splendid  music,  and  hundreds  of  people 
were  out  in  full  dress.  Ah!  there  are  sorrowful 
things  in  Chili.  The  great  multitude  promenad- 
ing around,  all  so  merry,  so  light-hearted,  gave 
evidence  of  nothing  but  happiness.  But,  O 
Death !  there  is  canker  there ! 

"Would  the  senor  like  a  little  maiden?"  said  a 
middle-aged  woman,  pausing  before  us,  with  a  girl 
of  fourteen  years  on  her  arm. 

"Is  the  young  lady  your  daughter?" 

"Si,  senor." 

"Do  you  want  to  give  her  away  ?" 

"Ah!  no,  senor." 

"Do  you  want  to  sell  her  ?" 


146  orvrLiZATiON  in  chili. 

"No — no!  Perhaps  the  senor  would  like  her 
for  a  short  season  ?" 

I  blush  to  record  it;  but  the  conversation  ac- 
tually occun'ed,  and  I  afterwards  learned  that  in 
some  of  the  larger  towns  it  is  no  uncommon  thing 
for  a  family  in  poor  circumstances  to  maintain  it- 
self by  making  merchandise  of  the  young  and  ten- 
der daughters.  I  turned  to  the  woman  and  asked 
where  she  lived. 

"In  this  city,  senor,"  she  replied. 

"How  many  children  have  you  ?" 

"Four,  senor." 

'  'Are  they  all  girls  ?" 

"No,  senor;  this  is  my  only  daughter." 

"Are  you  a  Christian  ?" 

"Of  course,  sir." 

"Do  you  tell  your  priest  that  you  are  in  the 
habit  of  putting  your  little  girl  out  for  such  bad 
purposes  ?" 

"Ah,  no,  senor;  it  is  not  necessary.  She  is  my 
own  daughter,  and  the  priest  does  not  care  what  I 
do  with  her  " 

It  was  half-past  eight  when  the  music  again 
broke  forth  to  call  us  to  the  circus.  Jones  danced 
a  hornpipe;  and  we  all  set  out  for  the  entei-tain- 
ment.  Following  the  crowd,  we  soon  appeared  in 
front  of  an  old,  rickety,  board  barn,  with  an  im- 
mense  sign-board  over  the  door,   on  which  was 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  147 

written,  in  large  letters,  the  Spanish  word 
"Teatro." 

''Is  the  circus  held  here  to-night?"  asked  Jones, 
of  the  man  at  the  window. 

"Held  here,  sir!"  said  the  man,  in  good  English. 

"What's  the  admission?" 

"Have  a  box,  sir?" 

"Yes." 

"Five  dollars,  sir." 

Jones  paid  for  the  box,  and  we  went  in.  I  no- 
ticed that  the  ceiling  had  been  made  by  stretching 
muslin  sheeting  over  the  upper  joists,  and  that  in 
different  places  the  accumulated  dirt  from  above 
had  bagged  it  down,  and  even  torn  holes  through 
it  by  the  weight.  That  the  roof  leaked  badly  was 
evident  from  the  stains  on  the  canvas.  The  "thea- 
ter" was  lighted  with  twelve  large  lamps  hung 
ai'ound  in  different  places,  so  as  to  afford  the  best 
possible  light.  The  pit,  the  gallery,  the  stage,  the 
elevated  boxes,  in  fact,  the  whole  inside  of  the 
building  was  made  of  unplained  boards,  and  be- 
tween each  two  boards  was  a  good-sized  crack  or 
opening;  and  overall  was  a  thick  coating  of  white- 
wash that  readily  rubbed  oft'  on  our  clothes. 
When  we  reached  our  box  it  was  empty,  and  the 
Boston  man  again  made  some  remarks  that  I  can- 
not record.     But  the  good-natured  Jones  gave  a. 


148  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

boy  a  half  dollar  to  go  to  the  hotel  and  bring  us 
four  chairs,  which  made  us  quite  comfortable. 

Presently,  after  repeated  calls  from  the  audi- 
ence, the  bell — a  very  large  dinner-bell — rang;  the 
music  struck  up,  and  the  curtain  was  raised;  but 
not  a  soul  appeared  on  the  stage  We  supposed 
some  little  blunder  had  been  made,  and  that  soon 
things  would  be  righted.  But  after  the  music  had 
been  played  clear  through  and  repeated,  the  audi- 
ence got  restless  and  uneasy.  The  Boston  man 
sneered;  but  Jones  said  it  was  excellent — the 
best  thing  of  the  kind  he  had  ever  seen  or  heard. 

Just  then  something  white  shot  out  on  the  stage 
with  considerable  velocity.  It  was  a  clown.  His 
face  was  jDainted  white,  with  the  exception  of  a  red 
spot  on  his  cheeks  and  one  between  his  eyes.  His 
white  cap  tapered  to  a  point  three  feet  above  the 
top  of  his  head,  and  his  false  ears,  which  were 
black,  stuck  out  a  foot  long,  quite  like  those  of  a 
mammoth  donkey's.  The  rest  of  his  dress  was  a 
loose-fitting,  muslin  gannent,  made  waist-coat 
fashion,  and  trimmed  up  the  entire  length  of  each 
seam  on  the  outside  of  the  legs  with  an  abundance 
of  immense  white  frills.  He  jumped  up  and 
down,  stiif-legged,  ran  around  the  stage,  threw 
up  his  arms  in  wild  gesticulations,  fell  down  a 
dozen  times  and  as  often  quickly  jumped  up,  and 
kept  up  that  kind  of  performance  for  ten  minutes, 


PAST    AND    PRE8EKT.  149 

with  not  a  sign  of  recognition,  by  even  a  smile,  from 
the  audience.  Then,  from  the  sheer  ridiculousness 
of  the  situation,  the  peoi^le  began  to  unbend — just  a 
little  at  first,  but  gradually  increasing  till  the  whole 
house  was  a  wild  tumult  of  laughter  and  cheers. 
After  this  performance  was  over,  and  the  band  had 
again  tormented  the  people  with  its  clumsy  music, 
there  appeared  upon  the  stage  two  young  men  and 
two  young  women,  all  dressed  alike  in  flesh-colored, 
tight-fitting  garments.  They  made  a  low  bow,  the 
young  women  at  the  same  time  raising  the  right 
foot  and  bending  the  right  knee,  and  then  they  re- 
tired. The  whole  of  the  performance  was  in  keep- 
ing with  the  surroundings,  and  I  must  say  that  the 
people  of  Chili  are  easily  entertained.  Then  fol- 
lowed, however,  some  wonderful  feats  on  the 
tight-rope,  the  elevated  swing,  and  the  trapeze. 
For  instance,  a  young  man  climbed  into  a  swing  at 
least  twenty  feet  above  the  floor,  and  while  it  was 
in  rapid  motion,  with  folded  arms  he  stood  up  and 
danced,  or,  at  least,  kept  time  to  the  music  with 
his  feet.  At  twelve  o'clock  the  '*Girco  Esplendido" 
closed  its  entertainment,  and  the  people  were  all 
satisfied  and  pronounced  it  excellent. 

Chilian  is  situated  in  the  midst  of  an  excellent  ag- 
ricultural district,  and  cattle,  sheep,  swine  and 
horses  are  very  abundant.  It  is  no  uncommon  sight 
to  see  a  dozen  or  more  large  pigs  lariated  to  stakes 


150  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

and  grazing  upon  the  commons.  A  German  farmer 
adjoining  the  city  makes  a  fortune  of  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars  every  year  by  grazing  cattle.  He  has 
a  farm  of  eight  hundred  acres,  the  whole  of  it 
thoroughly  irrigated  and  used  for  pasture  lands. 
A  Mr.  D ,  an  American,  has  a  half  million  dol- 
lars' worth  of  machinery,  all  under  one  roof.  He 
smelts  his  own  iron,  and  manufactures  wagons, 
coaches,  threshing-machines,  mill-irons,  car-wheels, 
etc.  Money  is  easily  made,  and  any  one  so  in- 
clined can  easily  seciire  wealth. 


CHAPTKR  XI. 

The  Baths— Flowers — Pleasnre-seekers— High  Life — Education 
— Courtship^Getting  Married — A  Good  Wife — A  Chilian 
Husband — A  Steamboat  Ride —  The  Bathers — Soldiers- 
Ashamed  of  our  Countrymen. 

^^BOUT  fifty  miles  from  Chilian,  high  up 
among  the  everlasting  snows  of  the  Andes, 
.  is  a  place  familiarly  known  to  eveiybody  a3 
the  "Baths."  There  is  nothing  there  but  a  large 
hotel — where  a  fellow  has  the  exquisite  pleasure  of 
paying  at  the  rate  of  about  a  dollar  a  bite  for  two 
meals  a  day — and  a  great  quantity  of  mineral 
springs.  The  latter  are  the  attraction  of  every 
body  in  the  whole  nation  afflicted  with  anything 
like  a  disease,  and  of  many  not  afflicted,  who  re- 
sort there  during  the  summer  months  to  spend 
their  money  and  keep  cool.  The  proprietor  of  the 
hotel  pays  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year  to  the  mu- 
nicij)ality  of  Chilian  for  the  privilege  of  entertain- 
ing these  health  and  pleasure  seekers  for  three 
months  in  the  year,  and  makes  a  nice  little  profit 
of  sixty  thousand  dollars. 

The  hotel  is   situated  on   what  appears  to   be  a 
precipice,   which   is  sumptuously   cushioned    and 


152  CIVILIZATION    IN   CHILI. 

draped  with  foliage,  and  breaks  up  into  many 
beautiful  chasms,  leading  off  into  the  dense 
woodland  of  mighty  oaks,  then  delving  into  the 
plain  far  below,  in  which  is  situated  the  town,  with 
its  houses  barely  distinguishable;  and  far,  far  be- 
yond are  the  wonderful  wastes  of  the  mighty  Pacific, 
whose  blue  waters  mingle  with  the  blue  of  the  hori 
zon  in  misty  confusion.  But  what  shall  I  say  of 
the  flowers?  Chili  is  pre-eminently  a  land  of 
flowers.  From  the  time  we  commence  to  slowly 
ascend  the  mountain  at  its  base,  winding  in  zig-zag 
lines  among  the  gorges  up  higher  and  higher  till 
we  reach  the  limit  of  everlasting  snows,  our  eyes 
are  feasted  and  our  souls  delighted  with  the  beau- 
ty and  fragrance  of  flowers.  Daisies,  pansies  im- 
mense in  size  and  beautiful  beyond  description, 
heliotropes,  geraniums  with  immense  stalks  like  the 
trunks  of  young  saplings  and  with  red,  yellow 
and  variegated  flowers !  Are  we  in  Paradise  ?  Is 
this  the  garden  of  Eden  ?  Are  we  enchanted  ? 
Are  those  fairies  that  nod  and  bend  and  beckon 
to  us  with  blushing  face,  rosy  lips  and  glory- 
crowned  smiles  real  ?  "Is  it  the  fragrance  of  their 
breath  that  floats  up  to  regale  us  with  pleasant 
odors,  that  charms  and  soothes  and  lulls  us  off  into 
dreamy  existence  where  we  wander  in  celestial  gar- 
dens of  beauty  ?  Are  flowers  immortal  ?  Is  the 
odor  the  soul  that  wafts  its  way  up  to  a  higher  Eden 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  153 

of  perpetual  beauty,  of  which  all  the  fragrance  and 
honey-dews  of  this  world  are  but  a  foretaste  of  its 
gi'andeur?  Are  the  love-tinted  petals  and  the 
beautiful  leaves  the  smouldering  body  that  shall  be 
resurrected  and  united  with  the  soul  to  again  send 
forth  a  rapturous  beauty  on  the  banks  of  the  River 
of  Life?"  Ah,  no!  Grod  is  not  so  impoverished. 
But  why  do  flowers  so  elevate  us  ?  Why  do  they 
remind  us  of  the  chubby  hands,  the  dimpled 
smiles  and  sweet  breath  of  the  tender  little  one 
that  fell  away  like  a  bursting  bud  plucked  from  the 
living  vine  ?  Why  do  we  think  of  heaven  when  we 
see  such  beauty,  if  these  things  are  not  really  a 
foretaste  of  the  great  beauty  in  the  life  to  come  ? 

At  the  hotel  are  hundreds  of  guests.  Some  are 
old  and  ugly,  some  are  rheumatic  and  feverish, 
but  by  far  the  larger  part  are  young  and  middle- 
aged.  What  brought  them  here  ?  Certainly  anx- 
ious mammas  are  not  out  to  display  their  daughters 
as  a  bundle  of  fanciful  merchandise  in  order  to 
make  a  good  '-'catch" — it  is  not  the  fashion  here. 
There  are  no  private  walks  where  the  belles  and 
the  beaux  can  saunter  and  gossip,  read  poetry  and 
love  tales,  create  passions  and  form  attachments 
that  are  discarded  and  broken  on  to-morrow.  There 
are  no  secluded  tete-a-tetes  where  the  young  nis- 
tic  can  while  away  an  hour  or  two  with  his  lady- 
love, unmolested.     It  is  not  the  fashion  either.  In 


154  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHIU. 

fact,  it  would  create  scandal  for  the  young  lady  to 
si^eakto  the  young  gentlemen,  unless  it  should  be 
in  the  presence  of  mother,  or  auntie,  or  a  confiden- 
tial servant. 

But  these  young  girls  are  so  charmingly  beauti- 
ful, and  they  are  so  polite,  and  they  can  play  so 
nicely  and  sing  so  sweetly,  and — and — and  that's 
all !     No,    not  all,  either.     If   there  ever  is  a  time 
when  mamma  is  not  on  guard  for  a  moment — just 
a  little  moment — which  rarely  ever  occurs,  it  is  so 
nice  for  one  of   them  to  receive  a   charming  little 
billet-doux,   written  on   gold-tinted  paper,  nicely 
scented,  and  placed  in  the  sweetest  little  gipsy  of 
an  envelope,  tied  with  a  white  silk  bow  with  deli- 
cate tassels!  O  dear!  how  very,  veiy  cunning!  Then 
if  the  rare  moment  in  life  should  ever  happen  when 
a  nice  beau-like  gentleman  can  only  say:  "Oh,  you 
are  so  pretty,  that  I  love  you  with  all  my  heart!" 
how   that  little  guarded  soul  will  tremble!     How 
she    will  remember   those    words  and  feast    upon 
them!     But  mamma  or    no  one    else    must    ever 
know  a  breath  about  it,  for   mamma  would  scold 
furiously,  tear  her  hair,  and  cry  herself   sick,   and 
any  one  else  would  say   that   she  did    something 
"very,  very  naughty!"  and  eveiy  lady  acquaintance 
that  heard  it  would  hold  up  both  hands,  open  her 
astonished  eyes  and  say  "Oh,  law!"     So  the  dear 
little    darlings  must    behave    very  properly,  play 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  155 

for  the  young  gentlemen  in  the  presence  of  mam- 
ma, and  read  all  the  little  love  stories  by  them- 
selves. It  is  veiy  wearisome,  no  doubt;  but  what 
is  better  for  weary  people  than  sleep?  So,  when 
the  dear  pets  ^"et  tired,  they  just  sleep — sleep  till 
ten  or  eleven  every  day,  and  have  a  good  long  nap 
in  the  afternoon.  In  fact,  most  of  the  pleasure- 
seekers  desire  nothing-  better  than  the  luxury  of  a 
good  hath,  a  good  dinner,  some  good  wine,  to  be 
kept  cool,  and  to  have  plenty  of  sleep.  But  the 
poor  girls  have  the  hardest  time.  They  are  so 
guarded,  so  petted,  so  dressed,  and  so  much  con- 
fined to  the  narrow  circles  of  music,  love  stories, 
lily-white  and  gossip,  that  their  pretty  faces  are 
often  as  expressionless  as  a  mass  of  putty. 

I  once  said  to  a  very  pretty  and  also  very  fashion- 
able young  lady  who  had  called  with  her  mamma, 
when  we  were  discussing  the  people  of  Spain: 

"But,  after  all,  we  owe  a  great  deal  to  the  people 
you  now  dislike  so  much." 

"Ah,  yes,  that  is  very  true,"  she  paid. 

"What  America  would  be  to-day,"  I  continued, 
"if  there  never  had  existed  a  Columbus,  would  be 
hard  to  conjecture." 

"Very  true,"  she  said.  But  a  moment  after- 
wards I  heard  her  quietly,  and  as  she  thought  pri- 
vately, inquire  of  her  mamma  who  Columbus  was; 
and  the  dear  mamma  said  she  was  not  quite  cer- 


156  CJITELrZATION   IN    CHILI, 

tain,  but  she  thouglit  he  was  one  of  the  early  saints. 

In  a  short  time  I  asked  the  same  dear  lady  to 
play.  She  seated  herself  at  the  piano,  and  fairly 
delighted  me  and  every  one  else  in  the  room.  The 
piano  seemed  to  be  a  vital,  living,  breathing  thing 
under  her  masterly  touch,  it  was  so  full  of  ex- 
pression. When  she  had  finished,  a  friend  from 
the  United  States  said,  after  a  reasonable  silence: 

"Senorita,  I  have  no  words  with  which  to  express 
my  delight!     Youi'  music  is  absolutely  charming." 

"Ah,  you  flatter  me  indeed!"  she  said.  "I  play 
very  poorly." 

"Excellent,  beyond  expression!"  he  declared. 

"No,  indeed!     I  make  no  pretentions." 

"The  selection  you  played  was  from  Strauss  I 
believe." 

"I  do  not  know  from  what  it  is  quoted." 

"Do  you  like  Strauss  ?" 

"I  have  not  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  it,"  she 
said. 

"Strauss — Strauss  !"  he  exclaimed.  "Johann 
Strauss,  the  great  Viennese  musical  composer!" 

"Oh,  certainly!"  she  said,  getting  very  red.  'Of 
course;  he  is  a  splendid  musician." 

The  poor  girls!  They  know  so  much  about  mu- 
sic, they  can  make  such  excellent  fancy  work,  and 
they  can  write  so  handsomely;  but  they  have 
learned  it  all  mechanically,  as  though  they  were 


PAST   AND    PRESENT.  157 

machines.  They  scarcely  know  the  meaning  of 
biography,  history  or  methematics,  or  anything 
else  pertaining  to  real  life. 

An  Englishman  of  my  acquaintance  fell  in  love 
with  one  of  the  very  prettiest  girls  in  all  Chili.  He 
did  the  polite  and  proper  thing  by  going  to  her 
mamma  and  asking  consent  to  win  the  daughter 
for  his  wife,  which  consent  was  given.  All  the 
courtship  was  done  under  direction  of  the  mater- 
nal eye,  and  soon  the  happy  pair  were  betrothed. 
But  getting  married  was  quite  a  different  affair. 
The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  consult  the  priest, 
who  agreed  to  sanction  the  marriage  providing  the 
young  man  would  unite  with  the  Romish  Church, 
which,  as  he  had  no  particular  religious  views,  he 
agreed  to  do.  For  this  consultation  the  holy 
father  expected  and  got  a  good  fee.  The  next 
week  the  jDriest  called  with  necessary  papers,  for 
which  he  charged  another  fee.  The  young  man 
was  instructed  to  carry  these  papers  to  the  magis- 
trate for  his  signature.  The  magistrate  endorsed 
them,  and  instructed  the  young  man  to  go  to 
another  officer  to  have  them  properly  recorded  and 
sealed.  For  this  service  he  charged  a  good  fee. 
The  recorder  put  the  papers  in  the  proper  mill, 
charged  another  good  fee,  and  instructed  the 
young  man  to  write  to  his  native  land  and  have  a 
magistrate  there  certify  that  he  knew   him   when 


158  CIVIMZATION   IN   CHILI. 

he  was  born;  knew  his  "sisters  and  his  cousins 
and  his  aunts;"  knew  all  the  rest  of  his  relations; 
knew  that  he  was  not  born  out  of  wedlock;  and 
knew  that  he  had  no  deserted  wife  in  the  land  of 
his  nativity.  After  waiting  about  nine  months, 
some  papers  were  received  that  would  answer, 
which  were  forthwith  carried  to  the  parish  priest. 
That  gentleman,  though  unable  to  read  a  word  of 
English,  after  examining  them  for  a  month  or  two, 
and  receiving  a  second  fee,  pronounced  them  all 
right.  The  magistrate  and  the  recorder  each  in 
turn  examined  the  papers  critically,  pronounced 
them  genuine  (another  fee  for  each),  and  finally, 
after  waiting  about  two  years,  the  happy  pair  were 
made  one,  at  a  cost  of  something  less  than  two 
hundred  dollars. 

But  the  Englishman's  troubles  were  not  at  an 
end.  The  very  next  morning  after  his  marriage, 
he  said  to  his  wife  with  a  loving  smile : 

"Darling,  can  I  trouble  you  to  sew  this  button 
on  my  coat?" 

"Oh,  my  husband!  I  never,  never  did  such  a 
vulgar  thing  in  all  my  life!" 

They  soon  went  to  housekeeping,  and  as  there 
were  but  two  of  them,  he  suggested  that  they 
might  get  along  with  but  one  servant. 

"Oh-o-o-o!"  she  cried.  "Boo-oo-oo!  1  ca-ca- 
can't  stand  it !     I  can't  be  redu-du-duced  to  such 


PAST    AND    PRESENT .  159 

a  condi-i-i-tion !     I  thought  that  you  lo-o-o-ved 
me!  Oh-o-o-oo!  Boo-ho-hoo!"  etc. 

The  poor  husband,  almost  frantic,  made  speedy 
amends  by  securing  a  first-class  cook,  a  dining- 
room  maid,  a  man  servant  to  wash  and  wipe  the 
dishes  and  go  to  the  market,  a  chambermaid,  and 
a  servant  at  hand  to  hand  the  blessed  darling  wife 
a  drink  when  required,  to  fan  her  when  she  was 
warm,  to  help  her  dress,  bathe,  paint,  and  do  a 
host  of  other  fatiguing  things.  The  Englishman's 
income  was  only  two  thousand  a  year,  and  as  a 
consequence  he  became  involved,  took  to  drink, 
and  put  an  end  to  his  miserable  existence,  leaving 
his  beautiful  wife  to  return  to  her  darling  mamma. 

But  these  dear  creatru'es  make  better  wives  for 
the  young  men  of  their  own  countiy.  The  native 
husband  understands  his  little  wifey.  If  he  is 
wealthy  he  supports  her  grandly;  he  keeps 
her  as  nearly  as  possible  in  a  bandbox;  and 
when  he  tires  of  her,  which  he  soon  does,  he  spends 
all  of  his  evenings  at  the  club,  or  at  the  room  of  his 
mistress,  whom  he  supports  in  a  different  part  of 
the  city.  If  his  dear  little  gipsy  wife  complains 
of  this,  and  ofiers  any  serious  remonstrance,  the 
loving  husband  sometimes  indulges  (as  my  neigh- 
bor in  Concepcion  did  about  once  a  month)  in  the 
manly  exercise  of  boxing  her  ears  and  kicking  her 
about  the  house. 


160  CIVILIZATIOK    IN    CHILI. 

When  I  left  Chilian  and  the  Baths,  I  went  di- 
rectly to  the  bay  of  Talcahuano,  and  took  a  steam- 
boat for  Tome,  another  summer  resort,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  bay.  The  steamboat  was  a 
marvel.  It  was  about  fifty  feet  long,  fifteen  feet 
wide,  with  a  canvas  covering  to  protect  the  passen- 
gers, and  was  purchased  by  an  energetic  German 
for  what  loose  money  he  had  in  his  vest  pocket. 
He  makes  about  ten  thousand  a  year  by  cai*rying 
passengers  across  the  bay. 

Tome  is  quite  a  manufactming  town — perhaps 
the  first  in  Chili.  They  there  make  barrels,  and 
wine,  brandy  and  whisky  to  fill  them;  flour,  bricks 
and  tiling,  and  a  very  excellent  quality  of  woolen 
cloth. 

Strange,  how  much  the  whole  of  the  business  of 
the  coast  is  in  the  hands  of  foreigners  !  We  went 
to  the  hotel  and  said,  in  the  best  Spanish  we  could 
command : 

"We  would  like  breakfast  for  three,  Senor," 

"Ah,  yes  !  do  you  speak  English?" 

We  went  to  all  the  other  public  places  in  town, 
tried  to  air  our  bad  Spanish,  but  got  rebuked  by 
similar  answers. 

In  the  afternoon  a  company  of  six  of  us,  including 
two  young  ladies,  strolled  down  to  the  bathing 
places  on  the  beach.  We  had  been  assured  that 
everything  was  delightful,  but  were  not  quite  pre- 


PAST    AND    PBESENT.  161 

pared  for  what  we  saw.  There  was  no  bath-house. 
A  pax'ty  of  children  and  a  woman  were  enjoying  a 
bath  in  a  perfectly  nude  condition,  and  were  not  at 
all  startled  or  surprised  by  our  appearance.  We 
there  learned  that  it  is  the  custom  for  each  party  of 
bathers  to  carry  with  them  two  small  tents,  in 
which  all  dress  is  adjusted  for  the  occasion. 

On  our  return  we  had  a  chance  to  see  American 
life  and  Chilian  life  placed  side  by  side.  An 
American  man-of-war  was  anchored  in  the  bay, 
and  some  two  dozen  soldiers  who  were  off  on  a 
"pass"  came  sauntering  into  the  car.  They  were 
splendidly  dressed  in  new  uniform,  were  cleanly 
shaven,  manly-looking  fellows.  They  all  took 
first-class  car  fare,  which  is  something  no  common 
soldier  in  Chili  would  be  guilty  of  doing — no,  in- 
deed! They  would  not  for  the  world  intrude  so 
much  upon  the  "senoiitas"  and  the  "caballeros." 
But  the  American  soldiers  all  crowded  in,  secured 
the  best  seats,  became  terribly  loud,  vulgar  and 
foul;  swore,  yelled,  hooped,  sang  songs,  laughed, 
jeered;  filled  the  whole  floor  in  the  passage  way 
with  tobacco  juice,  and  succeeded  in  driving  every 
respectable  person  from  the  car. 

In  the  second-class  car  were  a  lot  of  Chilian 
soldiers;  and  they  were  about  as  slovenly-looking, 
dirty,  unkempt  set  of  fellows  as  one  ever  beholds. 
"Some  were  di'unk  and   some  were  sober;"  but 


162  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

they  were  all  orderly  and  quiet.  Some  of  the  la- 
dies who  were  driven  from  the  iirst-class  car  by  the 
foul  language  of  the  American  soldiers,  were  quietly 
seated  by  the  Chilian  soldiers  when  they  entered 
the  second-class  car.  We  were  almost  ashamed 
that  we  were  American  citizens. 

Taking  it  all  in  all,  our  trip  to  the  public  bath- 
ing places  was  a  success,  and  we  felt  repaid  for  our 
trouble.  The  flowers,  the  pretty  girls,  the  tender 
mothers,  the  polite  fathers,  the  patient  servants, 
the  excellent  fare,  the  solicitious  and  tender  care 
bestowed  upon  us — all  together  were  certainly  a 
pleasant  episode  in  a  busy  life  among  a  strange 
people. 


CHAPTKR   XII. 

Independence  Day — Preparations — Great  Festivities — Patriot- 
ism— Fine  Dresses — Fried  Pies — Bill  of  Fare — Dance 
Houses — A  Chilian  Beauty— The  Condition  of  Sampson- 
Good  Order — "Rompe  Cabeza" — The  Greased  Pole — The 
Fat  Man — The  Find — On  ths  Pampas — A  Fried  Man — A 
Battle — A  Private  Entertainment — A  Tilt  on  Horseback 
— The  Tournament — The  Soldiers — The  Rapid  Improve- 
ments  of  the  Nation — "Viva  Chili." 

i^IEZYOOHO  means  eighteen.  In  Cluli  it 
[||y  has  reference  to  theii'  national  day  of 
"^^^  independence,  which  was  declared  Sep- 
tember 18,  1818,  after  O'Higgins  had  success- 
fully broken  the  power  of  the  soldiery  of  Spain.  It 
is  a  great  day,  or  rather  a  great  week.  The  munici- 
palities usually  recognize  three  days  as  a  time  of 
feasting  and  rejoicing — the  first  for  the  assemblying 
of  the  people  from  the  country;  the  second  for 
dancing,  drinking,  horseback-riding,  and  general 
jollification;  the  third  for  sham  battles  between 
chosen  divisions  of  the  soldiers,  the  tournament, 
racing  and  fist-fights. 

The  people,  especially  all  the  lower  classes, 
spend  an  entire  week  in  festivities,  in  preparing 
for  which  some  of  them  sell  anything   and  every- 


164  CIVILIZATION  IN  CHILI. 

thing  they  possess  in  order  to  procure  sufficient 
pocket-money  for  the  occasion. 

In  company  with  the  Professor  we  will  pay  a 
visit  to  the  Alameda  (public  walk),  to  see,  as 
"Dick,"  my  six-year-old,  expresses  it,  "the  show." 
The  Alameda  of  Concepcion  is  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  city,  lying  snug  up  against  a  beautiful  hill 
that  rises  abruptly  to  the  height  of  a  thousand 
feet.  For  more  than  thirty  years  it  has  been  a 
public  resort.  The  "Lombardy"  poplars  are 
growing  thickly  in  long  rows,  many  being  five  feet 
in  cii'cumference  and  nearly  all  a  hundred  feet  in 
height.  There  are  no  other  attempts  to  beautify 
the  grounds  excepting  a  partly  completed  highway 
around  the  mountain,  which  will  some  day  be  ex- 
tended to  its  top;  but  the  place  is  beautiful,  none 
the  less. 

Wonderfully  patriotic  are  the  people  of  Chili. 
The  houses  have  all  been  newly  painted,  and  nice, 
large  flags  are  streaming  over  eveiy  doorway.  The 
cannons  are  booming  with  joy  for  the  occasion. 
The  band  is  playing  Viva  Chili,  and  grandly  they 
play  it,  too.  Carriages  and  coaches  are  going 
to  and  fro,  cariying  people  with  glad  faces  full  of 
joyful  expectations.  Hundreds  of  young  gentle- 
men beautifully  dressed,  riding  the  gayest  and 
nicest  of  horses  with  ornamental  saddles  and  bri- 
dles, are  dashing  in  every  direction — some  to  show 


PAST  AND  PRBSEKT.  165 

their  skill  as  equestrians,  others  to  prepare  for  the 
tournament  on  to-morrow.  Gentlemen  and  ladies 
finely  dressed  are  parading  up  and  down  the  walks, 
apparently  to  show  their  silks,  satins,  laces,  dia- 
monds, feathers,  puffs,  curls,  frizzes  and  "bangs." 
Indeed,  they  are  very  j)retty. 

On  either  side  of  the  first  row  of  trees  are  long 
rows  of  tents,  some  made  of  boards  covered  with 
cloths,  some  of  old  carpets,  and  others  of  muslin. 
In  these  are  thousands  of  the  poor  and  common 
people  from  the  country,  dressed  in  their  best, 
whole  families  together,  detei'mined  to  have  a  week 
of  undisturbed  enjoyment. 

In  front  of  each  tent  are  several  women  prepar- 
ing dainties  for  the  table.  Some  are  kneading 
dough,  some  preparing  soups,  some  frying  little 
pies  as  large  as  a  tablespoon,  in  great  skillets  of 
hot  lard.  On  rows  of  shelves,  these,  with  other 
delicacies,  are  exposed  for  sale,  so  that  none  may 
go  hungry.  Here  is  a  great  gobler,  baked  with 
both  head  and  feet  intact  as  in  life;  in  his  mouth 
is  an  olive,  as  an  advertisement  of  the  boxfull  just 
behind  for  sale. 

If  you  wish  a  meal,  the  bill  of  fare  at  one  of 
these  tent  hotels  is  about  as  follows : 

Soup — made  of  chopped  clams  and  beef  kidneys. 

Broiled  lungs  of  fat  pigs. 

Broiled  sea  crabs  and  grilled  entrails  of  pigs. 


166  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

Roasted  Bea-urohins. 

Fried  fish  and  baked  clams. 

Prepared  sauce  of  ox-feet. 

Roast  turkey — stufifed  with  onion  and  spices. 

Roast  chicken — stuffed  with  chopped  kidneys,  red  pepper,  and 

coryanders. 

Boiled  lungs  of  the  ox. 

Fried  peas. 

Pepper  salad. 

Yerba — tea,  sipped  while  hot  or  drawn  through  tubes,  size  of  a 

straw. 

Bread,  butter,  cake,  etc. 

You  can  take  this  whole  course — standing  up, 
eating  from  your  fingers — for  the  modest  price  of 
about  two  dollars;  if  that  is  too  expensive,  you  can 
pass  over  on  the  other  side,  and  join  in  a  family 
dish  of  boiled  meats  and  vegetables,  all  eating  from 
the  same  tray,  for  about  ten  cents,  and  an  extra 
dime  for  the  gallon  or  two  of  wine  with  which  you 
wash  it  down. 

Every  tent  is  a  dance-house,  where  two  young 
women  sing  some  plaintive  air,  accompanied  with 
guitars,  while  others  whirl  the  handkerchief  and 
dance,  as  described  in  another  chapter.  Barrels, 
casks  and  bottles  of  wine  are  strewn  around  pro- 
miscuously; so,  while  some  dance,  others  drink, 
and  they  in  turn  dance  and  drink  again  and  still 
again,  until  they  are  top-heavy  and  can  dance  no 
more,  when  they  are  stowed  away  to  sleep  off  the 
drunk. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  167 

Here  is  a  beautiful  girl,  with  close-fitting  dress, 
black  eyes  and  rosy  cheeks,  whirling  the  handker- 
chief in  a  dance  with  a  rough  rustic  in  boots  and 
spurs.  "Ah  !  she  must  have  her  wine  !"  "So  she 
must  !"  echoes  the  rustic,  who  fills  a  large  goblet 
to  the  brim,  which  she  turns  off  at  a  quaff. 

Other  lovers  must  come  in  for  a  dance  with  the 
same  damsel,  for  she  is  so  pretty,  so  fascinating, 
so  sprightly,  girlish,  innocent  and  sweet  that  all 
admire  her.  Oh,  those  large,  black  goblets  of 
wine,  how  they  make  her  feet  fly  !  Her  tongue 
flies,  too;  but  it  is  getting  tired  now,  though  she  still 
smiles,  still  twirls  her  handkerchief,  and — takes 
another  drink.  Oh!  the  floor  goes  up  to  meet  her; 
she  cannot  step  straight;  she  staggers,  but  regains 
herself,  staggers  again,  falls,  tries  to  get  up,  but 
fails.  She  raises  her  head  for  a  moment,  her  pretty 
eyes  look  bleared  and  crazy,  she  smiles,  bobs  her 
head,  is  gone — dead  drunk. 

At  the  next  tent  a  man  with  a  large  head,  ex- 
pressive of  Sampson,  has  fallen  among  some  rub- 
bish where  already  a  man  and  woman  are  piled  up 
in  drunken  sleep;  his  little  two-year-old  is  sitting 
on  his  breast,  playing  with  an  empty  bottle.  Dozens 
and  scores  of  these  people  are  in  some  stage  of 
intoxication.  But  there  is  no  great  disorder,  no 
yelling,  no  bragging,  no  quarreling  or  fighting,  and 
as  the  wine  is  the  pure  juice  of  grapes,  the  drunken 


168  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

sleep  passes  oft"  without  many  bad  oftects.  The 
secret  of  good  order  is  the  whipping-post,  for 
while  to-day  they  are  allowed  to  get  drunk,  they 
must  keep  order  or  be  arrested;  and  once  in  prison, 
the  police  whip  them  unmercifully.  To-moiTow 
they  can  get  drunk  and  fight  all  they  desire,  with- 
out being  molested. 

For  the  amusement  of  those  not  caring  to  drink 
and  dance,  the  municipality  has  fixed  up  a  play- 
thing called  Rompe-Gabeza,  meaning  to  break  the 
head.  It  is  well  named,  and  consists  of  wood  the 
shape  of  a  triangular  prism,  about  one  foot  wide 
and  eight  feet  long,  poised  in  a  horizontal  position 
about  eight  feet  from  the  ground.  It  is  so  perfectly 
balanced  on  an  u'on  roller  that  the  least  touch  will 
cause  it  to  revolve;  and  for  this  very  reason  it  has 
been  introduced  as  a  thing  of  amusement.  Some 
gentleman  places  a  twenty-cent  piece  on  the  solid 
framework  at  one  end,  and  tells  the  boys  that  the 
one  who  crawls  across  the  balanced  tiiangle  can 
have  the  money.  About  one  boy  in  every  ten  is 
successful;  the  rest  lose  balance  and  are  thrown  to 
the  ground,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  crowd. 

The  municipality  has  also  planted  a  great  pole, 
turned,  smooth  and  straight,  about  sixty  feet  in 
length,  firmly  in  the  grond.  This  is  well  smeared 
with  grease  to  the  very  top,  at  which  extremity  is  a 
purse  of  money  to  be  given  to  the  one  that  gets  it 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  169 

by  climbing.  Little  boy  number  one,  with  clean 
linen  pants,  vest  and  coat,  thinks  the  chances 
worth  trying  for,  succeeds  in  crawling  up  about 
four  feet,  when  down  he  comes,  greased  all  over. 
A  large,  fat  mau  suggests  that  "it  is  not  an  impos- 
sibility to  climb  that  pole."  A  stranger  tells  about 
a  man  in  Santiago  who  tried  hundreds  of  times, 
each  time  before  making  the  tiial  rolling  in  the 
sand  so  as  to  put  grit  on  the  pole,  and  at  last  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  to  the  top,  and  finding  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  in  bank  checks. 

The  fat  man  lays  ofl"  his  hat,  and  walks  around 
the  jDole.  Little  boys,  numbers  two  to  six,  in  the 
meantime  have  succeeded  in  wiping  the  grease  off 
to  a  height  of  about  fifteen  feet.  The  stranger 
suggests  that  the  package  on  top  looks  as  though 
it  might  contain  bank  checks.  The  fat  man  de- 
clares that  he  could  climb  that  pole  when  he  was 
young,  and  if  it  was  not  for  his  lame  knee  he  could 
do  it  anyway.  "Of  course  you  could,"  said  the 
stranger;  "it  was  a  man  nearly  fifty  years  old  that 
got  the  money  in  Santiago." 

The  fat  man  declares  that  he  will  try  it,  though 
he  has  no  hopes  of  getting  higher  than  ten  feet  on 
account  of  his  lame  knee.  Up  he  goes,  slow  and 
heavy,  and  having  filled  his  pockets  with  sand, 
which  he  administers  freely  to  the  sleekest  parts, 
he  reaches  a  height  of  thirty  feet,  and  stops.  Every 


170  CIVILIZATION   IN  CHILI. 

part  of  his  person  •  that  touches  the  pole  is  thor- 
oughly saturated  with  g'rease.  He  makes  another 
effort,  and  commences  to  slide  downward,  and 
reaches  the  ground  with  a  crash,  to  the  infinite  de- 
light of  the  stranger  and  a  thousand  others. 

But  some  one  is  bound  to  reach  the  top  of  that 
pole.  The  crowd  is  increasing;  fully  ten  thousand 
people  are  present.  The  fat  man  goes  in  league 
with  twenty-five  boys  to  get  the  bank  checks  at 
the  top.  He  pushes  one  fellow  up  as  high  as  he 
can  reach,  and  immediately  starts  another  after 
him,  followed  by  still  another  and  another,  keep, 
ing  the  pole  full  below  the  fii'st  boy  all  the  time- 
In  this  way,  he  argues  that  he  can  stay  on  the 
ground  and  crowd  the  boys  up,  one  after  another, 
till  the  topmost  one  gets  the  money;  then  they  will 
divide.     It  is  a  failure. 

Finally,  after  the  great  crowd  had  been  amused 
for  three  hours,  and  two  or  three  hundred  dollars' 
worth  of  clothing  had  been  destroyed,  a  lad,  dressed 
in  rags,  with  arms  and  legs  stuck  full  of  sand-paper, 
succeeds  in  reaching  the  coveted  package.  It  con- 
tained a  dollar  bill. 

One  day  later. 

The  whole  crowd,  tents,  barrels  of  wine,  drunk- 
ards and  all,  have  gone  to  the  pampas,  two  miles 
south  of  town.  "We  go  out,  anxious  to  see  the 
tournament.     We  walk  around,  watching  the  gay 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  171 

gentlemen  on  horseback  canter  over  the  large 
plains.  We  are  all  expectation,  for  we  want  to  see 
with  our  own  eyes  enactments  of  the  days  of  chiv- 
alry, when  hooded  knights  fought  desperate  battles 
on  horseback  for  the  entertainment  of  the  people. 
We  walk  till  we  get  tired,  but  there  is  no  tourna- 
ment. We  sit  down  on  the  tongue  of  a  cart.  A 
drunken  fellow  mistakes  us  for  black  stumps  and 
puts  water  all  over  us. 

Our  eyes  are  diverted  and  wander  to  the  dancing. 
Our  fat  man  of  yesterday  is  again  conspicuous; 
this  time  he  has  forgotten  his  lame  leg,  and  swings 
it  high  in  a  dance  with  a  black-eyed  beauty.  A 
stately  gi'andmother  fries  her  diminutive  pies  in  a 
skillet-ocean  of  hot  lard,  very  close  to  the  dancers' 
feet.  The  fat  man  is  more  than  cleverly  drunk — 
steps  very  high,  swings  his  handkerchief,  claps  his 
hands,  endeavors  to  embrace  his  black-eyed  part- 
ner— but  woe,  woe  to  the  fat  man!  woe  to  the 
skillet  of  boiling  lard!  and  woe  to  the  frying  pies! 
The  indignant  beauty  resents  his  insult  with  a  push 
which  lands  the  fat  man  in  sitting  posture  squarely 
in  the  ocean  of  boiling  grease.  Poor  fellow!  We 
turn  away  sick  at  heart,  but  many  of  these  heathen, 
half-Indian  fellows  think  it  a  good  joke. 

Here  are  two  fellows  having  a  battle,  one  on  his 
horse,  the  other  on  foot.  The  latter  has  a  stout 
fish-pole  ten  feet  long,  and  welts  the   former  over 


172  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

back  and  head  unmercifully;  this  he  stands  brave- 
ly, until  he  seizes  the  end  of  the  pole  and  jerks  it 
from  the  fellow  on  the  ground,  runs  him  down, 
and  pelts  him  in  turn. 

Here  are  some  gentlemen  in  broadcloth  and  silk 
hats  who  are  getting  up  a  small  entertainment  of 
their  own,  and  as  they  are  ge'^.tlemen,  and  charge  no 
gate  money,  we  will  stop.  A  ring  is  formed  and 
two  burly  fellows,  half  drunk,  are  going  to  fight, 
not  to  settle  a  qi^arrel,  for  they  are  friends;  but  to 
get  each  of  them  a  dollar  from  the  gentlemen  in 
broadcloth.  They  have  agreed  to  fight  till  one  of 
them  gives  ujo  as  being  whipped,  or  till  the  gentle- 
men aforesaid  are  satisfied  and  say  it  is  enough. 
They  commence  in  a  laughing  tussel,  and  fall  to 
the  ground.  By  degrees  they  grow  more  and 
more  in  earnest,  and  soon  are  fighting  like  two 
savage  dogs;  but  not  till  they  are  pummeled  almost 
beyord  recognition  do  the  by-standers  interfere 
and  say  it  is  enough.  We  learn  that  one  of  the 
men  is  to  be  sent  to  the  city  hospital. 

There  are  some  fellows  having  a  tilt  on  horse- 
back; there  are  eight  of  them,  and  they  have 
chosen  sides  in  equal  numbers.  They  start  and 
ride  away  from  each  other  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
then  at  a  given  signal  turn  and  rush  upon  each 
other  in  mad  fui-y.  The  four  horses  abreast,  with 
their  fearless,   foolhardy  riders,   dash  right  into 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  173 

the  other  four  horses  while  all  are  running  at  full 
speed.  Some  fall  and  roll  over,  some  dash  madly 
onward,  some  aro  lamed,  and  all  more  or  less 
bruised  and  hurt.  This  is  the  tournament,  but  one 
sight  is  enough. 

Luckily  for  the  horses,  at  least,  the  soldiers  have 
made  their  appearance,  and  the  "tournament,"  for 
the  present,  comes  to  an  end.  These  half-breed 
Indian  soldiers  are  very  inferior  looking  men. 
They  are  rather  undersized,  with  hump  shoulders, 
bow-legs,  and  have  not  the  ability,  or  have  not  had 
the  training  sufficient  to  know  how,  to  keep  step. 
They  cut  a  sorry  military  figure,  but  the  Chillian 
soldiers  are  desperate  in  a  fight. 

All  Chilians  go  into  ecstasies  over  Dieuocho. 
The  opinion  of  the  writer  is,  that  the  manner  of 
celebrating  it  is  a  national  disgrace  to  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  country.  One  by  one,  however,  the 
nation  is  laying  aside  the  conditions  of  society 
she  inherited  from  Spain  at  her  birth.  The  bull- 
fight has  been  abandoned,  and  certainly  the  foolish, 
cruel  custom  of  trying  to  unhorse  one  another,  by 
riding  the  poor  animals  into  collision  while  run- 
ning at  full  speed  is  not  longer  in  great  favor  with 
the  intelligent  people.  Some  daring  German 
ladies  commenced  in  Concepcion  the  custom  of 
horseback  riding  with  gentlemen  friends.  It  was 
0,  bold  step,  for  no  Chilian  lady  of  any  character 


174  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

cared  for  the  saddle.  But  as  these  German  ladies  are 
of  high  standing  and  wealth,  the  custom  is  becom- 
ing general.  Our  own  American  ladies  do  not 
hesitate  to  walk  out  with  young  gentlemen  friends, 
something  that  would  give  rise  to  great  scandal 
among  the  natives  of  the  country.  But,  one  by 
one,  they  are  adopting  the  customs  of  the  more 
civilized  and  enlightened  natioasjand  certainly,  no 
other  nation  in  all  the  world,  under  like  circum- 
stances of  inherited  darkness,  of  great  isolation 
through  the  physical  structure  of  the  country,  of 
the  thousands  of  bigoted  priests  whose  only  aim  is 
to  keep  the  people  in  darkness,  has  made  the 
progress  that  this  little  Republic  has  made  in  the 
last  fifty  years.  With  great  enthusiasm  I  am 
ready  to  swing  my  hat,  and  in  a  rousing  three 
times  three,  cry  aloud — Viva  Chili! 


CHAPTBR  XIII. 

Concepcion— Its  Early  History— One  Hundred  and  Eighty 
Years  of  Warfare — Destroyed  by  Earthquakes — Evidences 
of  Civilization — A  Million  would  not  Save  a  Murderess — 
Screen-Doors — One  Kind  of  Missionaries — Converting  an 
Indian — American  Tramps— Good  Newspapers  and  Their 
Future— A  Wild  Bill  of  the  Andes— A  Fire  Company- 
Prospective  Mouse-Trap  Millionaire —  Good  Police  Eeg- 
ulations — A  Good  Medicine  for  Thieves — Out  of  Debt — 
General  Description — Monotonous — Prof.  F.  in  Trouble. 

/pJI^UAINT  old  city  of  .  Concepcion,  founded 
in^J  more  than  three  hundred  and  thirty  years 
"^y  ago— it  has  a  histoiy  of  its  own!  What 
scenes  in  the  drama  of  life  have  the  sun'ounding 
hills  witnessed!  Here  once  extended  the  bay, 
where,  unmolested  or  undisturbed  by  his  near  re- 
lation, man,  floundered  the  huge  plesiosaurus,  and 
where,  on  the  banks,  the  monster  megatherium 
played  at  death  games  of  hide-and-seek  with  the 
huge  mastodon — all  of  them  passing  away  and 
leaving  their  bones  for  the  astonished  gaze  of  man. 
Here  were  great  internal  commotions,  and  the  sub- 
terranean world  of  surging,  boiling,  swelling,  hiss- 
ing lava  and  steam,  broke  through  the  crust  that 
conflned   it,    and   with    trememdous   tumult   and 


176  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

crash,  broke  to  fragments  the  azoic  rocks  and  piled 
them  high  in  air,  in  conglomei-ate  mass  with  the 
coaser-textured  rocks  and  sand-washings  of  the 
sea.  Here  were  earthquakes  such  as  were  never 
witnessed  by  man — earthquakes  that  made  more 
than  a  quaking  and  trembling  of  the  ground ;  for 
at  one  mighty  bound  the  whole  of  the  beautiful 
valley  on  which  now  stands  the  city  was  redeemed 
from  the  bay.  Then,  in  later  ages,  when  the  then 
nameless  Bio-Bio  had  cut  its  channel  along  the 
eastern  hills,  a  rival  earthquake  still  farther  ele- 
vated the  land,  and  left  the  waters  to  course  their 
way  through  the  western  slopes.  Here  the  wild 
Indian  roved  unmolested  for  ages,  built  his  wig- 
wam in  the  sunniest,  cheeriest  places,  killed  the 
wild-tame  game,  and  never  dreamed  tbat  from 
another  world,  over  the  sea,  would  come  a  foeman 
to  steal  his  hunting  grounds  and  murder  his  kins- 
men. Here  Valdivia,  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
four  years  ago,  founded  the  city.  Here  are 
the  scenes  of  many  battles.  To-day  the  Span- 
iards are  joyous  and  hopeful,  giving  out  their  songs 
of  rejoicings,  that  are  caught  up  and  echoed  and  re- 
echoed by  the  silent,  surrounding  hills.  To- 
morrow the  city  is  in  flames;  the  few  surviving  in- 
habitants flee  to  the  boats;  the  Indian  exultingly 
swings  his  scalps,  reeking  with  red,  and  gory, 
while  he  plunders   the  ruins  and  feasts  upon  his 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  177 

booty.  Again  the  daring  Spaniard  erects  the  walls, 
and  the  city  is  alive  with  throbbing,  hopeful 
hearts.  But  the  cunning  Indian,  ever  on  the  alert, 
seeks  an  unguarded  entrance,  and  the  city  is  again 
in  smoking  ruins.  Once  more  does  the  Spaniard 
build  it  up.  Once  more  do  the  silent  hills  witness 
the  revengeful  Indian  raze  it  to  the  ground.  For 
one  hundred  and  eighty  years  they  witness  the 
battles  on  the  plain  below,  between  the  hardy  Span- 
iards and  the  determined,  unconquerable  Indians. 

And  when  the  ground  is  made  rich  with  human 
gore,  and  the  rivulets  and  brooklets  are  tinged  a 
thousand  times  with  the  blood  of  the  slain,  these 
towering  hills  are  witnesses  of  peace;  for  the  In- 
dian and  the  Spaniard  somehow  find  out  that  God's 
world  is  large  enough  to  afford  them  both  a  dwell- 
ing place,  and  that  their  fighting  and  murdering 
has  been  greatly  lacking  in  happy  results. 

But  these  silent  sentinels  are  witnesses  of  still 
more  death  and  destruction,  and  twice  do  they  see 
the  walls  of  the  city  tremble,  and  totter,  and  fall, 
crushing  to  death  the  stricken  inhabitants;  for 
twice  do  monster  earthquakes  level  all  the  houses 
to  the  ground. 

But  the  grand  old  city  still  exists,  and  the  quaint 
old  houses,  with  their  thick  walls  and  open  courts, 
are  examples  of  architecture  very  ancient. 

Concepcion    has  made  many  advances    in    the 


178  CIVILIZATION    IN   CHILI. 

scale  of  civilization.  For  instance:  About  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  a  beautiful  lady,  whose  pare:ats 
were  very  wealthy,  married  a  young  man,  and  set- 
tled in  life  with  many  flattering  prospects  for  the 
future.  Her  domestic  felicity  was  undisturbed  for 
years.  A  daughter  was  born,  and  had  grown  to 
the  age  of  five,  and  a  world  of  honor  and  glory,  as 
well  as  of  connubial  bliss,  was  spread  out  at  the 
mother's  feet.  But  suddenly  that  world  came  to  an 
end — her  world  of  happiness  and  prosperity.  She 
was  seized  by  a  "green-eyed  monster,"  who  held 
her  in  his  death- vice  gTasp,  and  waltzed  her  around 
to  the  tune  of  Fiendish  Whims;  and  finally  he 
caused  her  delicate  hands  to  carry  a  kettle  of 
boiling  water  and  pour  it  into  her  sleeping  hus- 
band's mouth  and  face.  He  died.  So  did  she, 
but  not  before  her  father  had  offered  the  whole  of 
his  wealth  to  save  her.  The  Governor  was  oflered 
half  a  million  in  gold  to  pardon  her.  On  the  Hill 
of  Death — place  of  j)ublic  execution — she  was  shot, 
sewed  into  a  bag  with  live  snakes  and  live  rats,  and 
sunk  into  the  middle  of  the  river. 

Civilization,  however,  has  done  much  to  enlight- 
en these  people  since,  and  now,  under  like  circum- 
stances, the  grave  Governor,  filled  with  humanity, 
would  consider  how  much  that  money  would  en- 
able him  to  do  for  "his  fellow-men,"  and  the  wo- 
man would  be  pardoned.      If  enough  money  was 


PAST    AND   PBE8ENT.  179 

not  forthcoming  to  mitigate  her  crime,  she  at  least 
might  have  Christian  burial  in  the  paupers'  cem- 
etery, where  in  after  years  the  bad  boys  could  play 
football  with  her  skull.* 

In  Vali^araiso  I  saw  even  more  evidences  of  civ- 
ilization than  were  ever  found  in  Concepcion.  I 
saw  there  the  stained  windows  and  the  green 
screen  just  inside  the  door  so  common  in  all  the 
saloons  in  a  Christian  land.  It  was  the  first  sight 
of  the  kind  I  had  seen  since  leaving  New  York.  It 
almost  cheered  me  to  know  that  I  was  once  more  in 
a  land  that  evidenced  Christian  civilization.  Any 
thoughts  that  I  might  have  had  of  stopping  were 
instantly  driven  away,  however,  by  the  appearance 
of  a  man  from  behind  the  screen.  He  wore  two  re- 
volvers, a  large  knife,  and  a  frightful  scar,  extend- 
ing from  his  temple  to  the  corner  of  his  mouth. 
I  doubted  the  place  from  that  moment,  although  it 
did  look  wonderfully  like  the  thousands  of  places 
established  and  protected  by  law  in  our  own  Christ- 
ian America. 

I  will  add,  that  such  great  improvement  is  due 
to  one  kind  of   missionary  effort.     The   Rev.    Mr. 

B ,  a  missionary  of  great  zeal,  was  laboring  to 

elevate  the  Indians  in  the  far-away  Montana  Terri- 
tory; but  at  the    same   agency  were    many  very 

♦Skulls  and  other  human  bones  are  very  plentiful  in  the  paupers' 
cemetery  in  Concepcion. 


180  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

wicked  men  who  largely  counteracted  his  influence. 
As  a  number  of  Indians  could  speak  the  English 
language,  he  appointed  special  meetings  and  talked 
to  them  upon  the  imj^ortant  subject  of  Christian 
civilization.  But  the  chief  could  never  be 
persuaded  to  attend,  although  oflered  many  induce- 
ments, as  he  desired  much  to  have  him  converted 
because  of  his  widespread  influence  among  the 
other  redskins.  The  opportunity,  however,  pre- 
sented itself  when  the  minister  could  address  the 
chief  alone;  for  one  day  he  found  that  worthy  sit- 
ting on  a  pile  of  rails  in  front  of  the  agency,  close- 
ly observing  some  laborers  plowing  near  by  with 
oxen,  swearing  and  yelling  at  a  terrible  rate. 

"Ah,  Trushaway,"  said  the  holy  man,  "you 
ought  to  be  a  Christian  !" 

"Ugh  !"  observed  Trushaway. 

"You  ought  to  come  out  to  our  meetings  and 
learn  to  pray  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  read  in  His 
Book  what  he  says  to  all  the  people." 

"Ugh  !"  grunted  the  chief,  still  eyeing  the  oxen. 

"If  you  were  a  Christian,  Tmshaway,  you  might 
induce  all  your  nation  to  become  civilized." 

"Ugh  !" 

"Then,"  continued  the  good  man,  "you  and  your 
people  could  soon  have  plenty  of  oxen  and  plows, 
and  could  cultivate  the  soil  like  these  fellows  you 
have  been  watching." 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  181 

"Heap-a-good  !"  said  Trushaway,  jumping  up, 
"heap-a-good  !  Indian  be  Christian  !  Indian  plow  ! 
Indian  drive  oxen !  Gree.  haw,  Buck,  Bright ! 
Whoop  !  Wo-haw-back,  Buck  !  Indian  much  civil- 
ized !   whoop  !" 

All  of  this  was  intermingled  with  a  fearful  volley 
of  oaths,  in  imitation  of  his  civilized  brother,  the 
ox-driver,  who  had  intuitively  done  more  to  dissem- 
inate evil  habits  than  the  good  minister  could  ever 
counteract — the  long  and  short  of  the  Indian's 
progress  in  religious  matter  consisting  in  blasphem- 
ing the  name  of  God. 

Christian  America  sends  into  this  land  of  Chili 
many  missionaries.  I  speak  what  I  know,  for 
some  of  them  have  called  upon  me  in  Concepcion 
every  week  since  I  have  been  here.  They  usually 
present  themselves  at  the  door,  and  with  the  fore- 
finger pointing  to  the  open  mouth,  utter  the  only 
Spanish  word  they  have  learned  — "Hambre," 
meaning  hungry.  A  careful  diagnosis  generally 
shows  they  are  afflicted  about  as  follows: 

They  are  very  ragged. 

They  are  very  dirty. 

They  are  very  lousy. 

They  are  extremely  lazy. 

They  are  excessively  impudent. 

They  are  the  smartest  of  thieves. 


182  OIVILrZATION  IN   CHILI. 

They  are  needed  at  home  to  be  punished  for 
crime. 

In  fact,  the  most  degraded  people  in  Chili  are 
American  tramps,  who  infest  this  country  by  the 
hundreds,  and  who,  as  graduates  of  our  higher 
civilization,  are  educating  a  large  class  of  natives 
in  the  Christian  accomplishment  of  being  expert 
pickpockets.  Of  all  the  representatives  from  our 
beloved  land,  these  tramps  are  so  much  in  the  as- 
cendancy as  to  numbers,  that  a  gentleman  is  al- 
most made  to  blush  at  times  to  own  that  he  is  an 
American  citizen. 

But  to  return.  Concepcion  has  other  evidences 
of  a  growing  civilization — it  has  a  fire  company. 
The  houses  being  built  of  heavy  brick,  and  cov- 
ered with  earthernware  tiling,  it  is  almost  impossi- 
ble for  them  to  take  fire  and  burn  down.  But,  as 
all  well  regulated  cities  in  civilized  lands  have  fire 
companies,  the  peojDle,  determined  not  to  be  out- 
done, purchased  a  monster  fire  engine  with  all 
modern  improvements,  and  organized  a  company 
to  put  out  fires.  Now,  there  had  not  been  a  fire  in 
Concepcion  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  burn  a 
farmer's  smoke-house  in  twenty-five  years.  That 
sounded  very  tame;  it  was  far  behind  the  spirit 
and  progress  of  the  age,  and  so  some  good  people 
determined  to  redeem  the  city  fi'om  this  long- 
standing evidence  of  barbarism.     The  insurance 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  183 

man  was  encouraged  to  visit  the  place,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  issuing  several  policies  for  about  double 
the  value  of  the  property  insured.  Then  there  was 
a  fire;  a  fire  in  which  coal  oil  and  other  inflamma- 
bles caused  the  flames  to  leap  high  in  the  heavens. 
The  people  were  in  ecstasies.  The  church  bells 
rang  out  loud  and  clear.  Even  the  fire  engine 
bustled  around  and  was  on  hand  before  the  build- 
ing was  half  consumed.  The  fire  company  got 
there,  too.  One  by  one  they  came  saunteiing  up, 
some  on  foot,  some  in  carriages  —  all  dressed  in 
broadcloth,  and  looking  as  though  it  was  a  mighty 
satisfactory  aftair.  So  the  city  was  redeemed,  and 
bids  fair  to  maintain  a  character  becoming  the 
third  city  in  size  and  importance  in  a  growing, 
civilized  Republic. 

Concepcion  has  two  daily  newspapers,  both  filled 
with  wholesome  articles  of  biography,  of  history, 
of  science,  of  jurisprudence,  of  theology,  of  afi"airs 
of  state,  and  of  the  general  news  of  the  world. 
They  are  papers  that  will  elevate  the  family,  and 
are  a  credit  to  the  town  and  state.  They  are 
remarkably  free  from  reports  of  murders,  highway 
robberies,  suicides,  seductions,  and  the  great  class 
of  crimes  so  eagerly  sought  for  publication  in  our 
journals  at  home.  But  civilization  will  soon  regu- 
late this  matter  also.  A  generation  or  two  more 
will  witness  a  radical  change,  and  the  young  civil- 


184  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

ian  will  eagerly  scan  the  columns  of  "crimes  and 
casualties."  He  will  read  how  the  daring  "Wild 
Bill"  of  the  Andes,  single-handed,  stopped  the  pass- 
ing stage-coach,  and  made  a  full  baker's  dozen  of 
hearty  mountaineers  "stand  and  deliver"  their 
money,  watches,  revolvers  and  other  valuables; 
how  he  then  generously  presented  the  driver  with 
a  j)urse  of  gold,  and,  covering  the  cowering  pas- 
sengers with  a  cocked  revolver,  watched  the  stage 
recede  from  sight;  how,  when  a  sheriff's  posse  of 
fifty  armed  men  pursued  him,  he  boldly  gave 
fight,  killing  seventeen  of  the  number  and  refusing 
to  surrender  until  his  own  body  was  riddled  with 
holes;  how  the  whole  city  turned  out  to  his  funer- 
al, and  the  ladies  wept  and  strewed  flowers  on  his 
grave.  He  will  be  feasted  with  articles  extolling 
the  manly  virtues  of  the  popular  "light  weight," 
Jemmy  Johnson,  who  so  gallantly  pummeled  his 
adversary  till  he  was  almost  beyond  recognition, 
".to  the  great  delight  of  the  select  party  of  a  thou- 
sand sports  so  favored  as  to  witness  the  fun." 
He  will  read  of  successful  "corners"  in  grain;  how 
a  clever  gentleman  from  the  West  made  an  im- 
mense fortune  by  "selling  short"  and  watching 
the  markets;  how  a  man  in  the  East  commenced 
with  a  mouse-trap,  and  by  "watering  his  stock" 
and  being  shrewd  enough  to  "take  advantage  of 
the  laws  of  trade,"  got  to  be  a  millionaire  of  such 


PAST   AND    PRESENT.  185 

immense  influence  as  to  control  courts  and  legislative 
bodies;  in  short,  he  will  read  of  high  crimes  and  mis- 
demeanors until  his  heated,  feverish  brain  will  be 
on  fire;  he  will  ponder  such  scenes  by  day  and 
dream  of  them  by  night.  Then  he  will  be  civil- 
ized. Then  Concepcion  will  not  be  such  a  hum- 
drum town,  that  has  not  aflbrded  a  solitaij  mur- 
der, a  bank  or  highway  robbery,  for  twenty-five 
years.  The  Province  of  Concepcion  may 
even  get  to  be  as  civilized  as  the  State  of 
Missouri,  and  support  a  gang  of  train  and 
bank  robbers,  whose  lives  shall  be  wi'itten  in 
flaming,  glowing  lines  of  praise.  If  these  are  the 
effects  of  civilization,  I  only  pray  that  I  may  live 
in  Concepcion  forever,  and  that  nature,  in  some 
way,  will  erect  barriers  imj^assable  that  shall  for- 
ever shut  out  all  possibility  of  intercourse  with  my 
own  loved  America,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  civilized 
world.  For  here  such  things  are  unknown,  and 
perhaps  in  all  the  world  there  is  not  another  town 
where  life  and  property  are  so  safe  from  the  hand  of 
crime  as  they  are  in  this  city. 

Concepcion  has  the  best  police  regulations  I  ever 
saw.  Look  at  that  half-breed  Indian  as  he  parades 
up  and  down  the  sti'eet,  dressed  in  full  uniform. 
He  is  under-sized,  black,  stoop-shouldered,  and  ex- 
cessively homely.  He  "cuts  the  pigeon-wing"  on 
a  bone  whistle  during  all   hours  of  the   night,  by 


186  CIVILIZATION   IN   OHILI. 

blowing  shrill  blasts  which  one  can  hear  a  full 
mile.  But  somehow  he  manages  to  keep  order. 
Perhaps  this  is  due  largely  to  the  great  body  of 
secret  police,  who,  disguised  and  unknown,  parade 
the  city  in  eveiy  part.  But  more  likely  it  is  due  to 
the  "medicine"  the  criminal  is  compelled  to  take 
when  once  in  prison.  After  a  man  has  had  one  . 
dose,  all  the  powers  of  earth  could  not  persuade 
him  to  take  another,  and  knowing  that  the  jail  is  the 
only  place  where  the  dreaded  "medicine"  is  given, 
it  has  quite  a  reformatory  effect.  It  is  administered  . 
about  as  follows: 

1 .  A  good  rope  with  which  the  patient  is  bound. 

2.  A  stout  post  to  which  he  is  firmly  tied. 

3.  A  broad  leather  strap,  one   end  of   which  is 
cut  into  many  strings, 

4.  A  short,  stout  whipstock,  to  which  the  heavy 
end  of  the  leather  strap  is  fastened;  and 

5.  A  burly  man  to  lay  it  on  to  the  patient's  back 
in  about  one  hundred  quick,  successive  strokes. 

An  Englishman,  having  received  a  dose  of  this 
kind  of  Spanish  soothing  syrup  for  the  crime  of 
stealing  a  saddle  in  the  Province  of  Concepeion, 
declared  that  he  would  as  soon  stand  for  the  same 
length  of  time  neck  deep  in  purgatory;  and  that 
sooner  than  take  any  chances  of  receiving  another 
dose  of  the  same  kind,  he  would  starve. 

Concepeion  is  out  of  debt.  Civilization,  however, 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  187 

may  in  time  remedy  even  that;  and  the  progressive 
Spaniard  may  live  to  see  the  day  when  gyratory 
office-holders  with  gum-elastic  souls,  will  plot  to- 
gether to  erect  a  capitol  building  of  paxillose  ar- 
chitecture, after  the  Albany  Statehouse  style.  As 
it  now  stands,  the  municipality  has  been  so  stu- 
pidly honest  as  to  erect  good,  roomy  public  build- 
ings, pave  all  the  principal  streets  with  squared 
blocks  of  granite,  and  beautify  the  city  with  public 
gardens  and  walks  without  appropriating  a  solitary 
cent  of  the  public  money.  An  office-holder  who 
would  be  guilty  of  such  culpable  stupidity  in  the 
State  of  New  York  would  never  survive  an  election, 
if  he  was  even  fortunate  enough  to  escape  impeach- 
ment. 

Concepcion  is  surrounded  with  beautiful  scenery, 
but  like  all  the  towns  from  Panama  to  Terra  Del 
Fuega,  it  is  so  ugly  that  it  is  picturesque.  It  has 
nine  Catholic  churches  and  no  sewerage.  It  sup- 
ports fifty  Catholic  priests  and  thx'ee  hundred  pros- 
titute women.  It  boasts  of  the  greatest  Jesuit  col- 
lege in  South  America,  and  over  one-half  of  the 
people  cannot  read  or  write.  It  maintains  a  lively 
theatre  and  a  great  graveyard.  It  has  palaces 
where  dwell  the  rich  and  pens  where  human  pigs 
feast  in  filth.  It  has  a  grand  baijd  of  musicians  as 
well  as  perpetual  smallpox;  four  banks  and  a  thous- 
and paupers;  beautiful  .carriages  and  wood-wheeled 


188  CIVILIZATION  IN  CHILI. 

carts;  locomotives  and  thundering  trains  of  cars  of 
latest  design,  and  the  primitive  plow  with  wood 
mould-board  and  one  handle. 

Concepcion,  like  all  coast  towns  of  Western 
South  America,  is  excessively  monotonous.  The 
buildings  all  have  the  same  shape,  and  only  vary 
as  to  size  and  color.  The  streets  all  have  the  same 
appearance,  and  it  is  easier  for  a  stranger  to  lose 
his  bearings  here  than  in  London.  This  statement 
was  verified  in  the  case  of  "Fin,"  the  professor  of 
Greek  and  history  in  the  American  College,  when 
he  first  anived  from  the  United  States.  Being  out 
together,  I  requested  him  to  guide  us  back  home. 
He  was  confident,  but  did  not  know  that  we  were 
within  ten  yards  of  our  own  college  door.  When 
we  arrived  there  I  suggested  that  we  stoj)  and  meet 
some  friends.  Passing  into  the  parlor  that  we  had 
left  not  twenty  minutes  before,  the  professor  joy- 
ously greeted  oui'  fellow-teachers  and  declared  him- 
self happy  in  meeting  them  in  a  distant  part  of  the 
city. 


C\^\.«- 


cMlL^a 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  Barren  Coast — Rich  Mines  and  ±tich  Lords — A  Barren 
Desert — A  Great  Discovery --The  Survey  —  A  Dispute 
about  Boundaries — Rich  Mines  Claimed  by  two  Nations — 
War — A  Treaty — A  Revolution — New  Discoveries — Another 
Revolution  and  Another  Treaty — Peru  out  of  Money— Peru 
Turns  Miner — Peru  Makes  a  Failure — She  Stimulates  the 
Quarrel  between  Bolivia  and  Chili — A  Secret  Treaty— Peru 
again  in  the  Mines— Still  Another  Treaty  to  avoid  War— 
An  Election  in  Bolivia — The  Strife  Deepens — Seizure  of 
Mines — Chilian  Soldiers  to  the  Front — A  Great  Feast — A 
War  on  Paper — A  Wonderful  Army,  all  Otticers — Declara- 
tion of  War — Chili  Occupies  the  Field — Battle  of  Calama — 
The  End  of  the  War— The  Beginning  of  Another. 

HE  whole  of  the  western  coast  of  South 
America  from  the  gulf  of  Gruayaquil  to  Val- 
paraiso presents  to  the  eye  of  the  traveler  a 
succession  of  barren,  sandy  hills,  that  to  the  casual 
observer  has  the  ajopearance  of  beiug  entirely 
worthless.  For  many  years  it  was  never  dreamed 
that  nature  had  stored  away  in  those  monotonous, 
reddish,  sandy  barrens  untold  wealth  that  was  to  be 
had  for  the  gathering;  and  in  later  years,  when  inex- 
haustible mines  of  guano,  copper  and  saltpetre  had 
enormously  enriched  the  lords  of  Peru,  it  was  still 
supposed  that  the  great  desert  known  as  Atacama, 


190  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

lying  between  the  inhabitable  portions  of  Bolivia 
and  Chili,  was  a  useless  waste. 

In  both  of  these  republics,  however,  mining  had 
assumed  magnitudinous  proportions.  In  Chili  the 
government  revenues  on  mines  alone  had  increased 
over  sixteen  millions  of  dollars  in  a  period  of  fifty 
years;  and  the  Chilians  were  fully  alive  to  the  great 
importance  of  this  branch  of  industry.  Finally 
some  miners  determined  to  investigate  the  desert. 
Very  foolish  fellows  they  were  considered,  indeed; 
for  so  worthless  had  the  whole  barren  always  been 
considered  that  the  SjDaniards  in  an  early  day  had 
pronounced  upon  it  the  greatest  of  curses;  and 
either  of  the  two  nations  would  have  willingly 
ceded  all  interest  to  the  other  for  a  mere  trifle,  if 
not  for  the  asking.  But  the  plucky  Chilian  miners, 
nothing  daunted,  pushed  to  the  north,  entered  the 
desert,  and  were  rewarded  with  great  finds  of  salt- 
petre, copper  and  silver,  in  such  abundance  that 
the  supply  seemed  inexhaustible. 

When  these  discoveries  were  made  known,  there 
was  naturally  great  rejoicing  in  the  little  Eepublic. 
A  great  fountain  was  right  at  her  own  doorway, 
where  individuals  could  feast  and  fatten,  and  where 
the  nation  could  easily  replenish  its  empty  ex- 
chequer. The  Government  at  once  commenced 
complete  surveys  of  the  desert,  northward  as  far 
as  the  twenty-third  parallel,   which   the   Chilians 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  191 

believed  to  be  the  boundary  line  between  their 
country  and  Bolivia.  Small  towns  sprang  up  that 
at  once  became  the  centers  of  large  commercial 
traffic  of  immense  benefit  to  the  nation. 

The  Government  of  Bolivia  regarded  all  this  with 
a  jealous  eye.  The  rapid  strides  of  its  small  but 
energetic  neighbor  in  obtaining  this  vast  resource 
of  wealth,  instead  of  being  viewed  with  indiffer- 
ence, was  somehow  considered  an  encroachment. 
Bolivians,  it  was  thought,  ought  to  own  the  mines, 
and  in  a  short  time  they  began  to  lay  claim  to  a 
portion  of  the  now  valuable  territory.  The  whole 
desert  had  hitherto  been  considered  so  worthless 
that  not  the  slightest  attention  had]ever  been  given 
by  either  nation  to  a  boundary  line.  But  now, 
Bolivia  became  convinced  that  her  territory  ex- 
tended south  to  the  twenty -fifth  parallel,  instead  of 
stopping,  as  the  Chilians  claimed,  at  the  twenty- 
third,  and  made  a  demand  for  possession  of  this 
strip,  also  occupied  by  Chilian  laborers,  and  con- 
taining many  valuable  mines. 

Both  parties  exhibited  historical  documents  es- 
tablishing different  boundaries,  and  both  seem  to 
have  manifested  great  faith  in  the  reasonableness 
and  justness  of  their  claims  to  the  disputed  terri- 
tory. War  seemed  imminent.  On  the  fifth  day 
of  June,  1863,  the  legislative  power  of  Bolivia  dic- 
tated a  law  authorizing  the  executive  of  that  nation 


192  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

to  declare  war  against  Chili.  But  neither  party 
was  ready  for  war,  and  some  diplomatic  service  was 
rendered  that  appeared  to  give  satisfaction  in  both 
countries. 

In  1866  a  treaty  was  signed  from  which  it  was 
hoped  there  would  be  continued  peace.  It  stipu- 
lated that  all  the  products  of  the  mines  within  the 
disputed  territory  should  be  divided  equally  be- 
tween the  two  countries,  and  that  each  should  pay 
an  equal  share  of  a  debt  of  $80,000. 

But  Bolivia,  in  the  midst  of  many  revolutions, 
neglected  her  part  of  this  treaty,  and  again  there 
was  strife  between  the  two  nations.  Demands  were 
made  upon  the  Chilians  for  the  payment  of  the 
entire  debt,  instead  of  the  half  of  it  as  the  treaty 
stipulated,  and  the  Bolivians  were  accused  of  re- 
ceiving large  sums  from  the  products  of  the  mines 
that  were  never  reported  to  the  Grovernment  of 
Chili. 

In  1868  two  citizens  of  the  latter  country  dis- 
covered immense  mines  of  borax  and  saltpetre 
within  the  bounds  of  the  disputed  tenitoiy,  which 
were  destined  to  deepen  the  strife  between  the 
two  nations,  and  to  play  an  important  part  in 
bringing  about  the  war  that  followed,  nine  years 
later.  Before  the  owners  of  these  mines  were  al- 
lowed to  operate  them,  they  were  requu-ed  to  pay 
the  Bolivian  Government  the  sum  of  $10,000;  also 


I  PAST    AND    PRESENT.  193 

to  build  a  wharf  at  the  seaport  of  Antofogasta,  and 
to  build  a  road  a  distance  of  seventy-five  miles  into 
the  interior.  To  this  Chili  submitted,  though  it 
cost  her  miners  over  $6,000,000. 

About  this  time  a  new  revolution  occurred  in 
Bolivia,  and  the  Government  that  had  made  these 
restrictions  and  signed  the  treaty  of  1866  was 
overthrown.  This  was  in  1871.  The  new  Govern- 
ment did  not  recognize  the  transactions  or  con- 
tracts of  the  old,  and  again  the  two  countries  sent 
out  engineers  to  survey  the  disputed  territory,  and 
the  company  at  Antofogasta,  notwithstanding  its 
enormous  outlay,  commented  to  make  new  regula- 
tions. But  many  threatening  revolutions  in  Boli- 
via retarded  an  amicable  settlement.  The  Presi- 
dent, in  the  midst  of  many  disputes  and  bitter 
quarrels  with  aspiring  statesmen — if  that  term  can 
be  applied  to  hot-headed,  ignorant  chieftains,  whose 
sole  desires  were  not  to  elevate  the  people,  but 
to  further  their  individual  interests  at  the  expense 
of  the  nation — ^dissolved  the  legislature.  The  next 
day,  at  a  banquet  given  by  himself  in  honor  of  this 
event,  he  fell  dead,  pierced  by  seven  bullets,  and 
another  government  was  immediately  organized. 
After  much  puerile  diplomacy  on  both  sides,  an- 
other treaty,  differing  but  little  from  the  old,  was 
signed  between  the  two  nations  in  1872. 


194  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

About  this  time  it  ajDpears  that  Peru,  notwith- 
standing her  great  wealth,  became  painfully  aware 
of  the  fact  that  her  coffers  were  empty.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  same  year,  President  Manuel 
Prado  appeared  before  his  assembled  legislature 
and  declared  that  the  Government  could  not  con- 
trol enough  money  to  defray  daily  expenses. 
Among  other  methods  suggested  for  increasing  the 
revenues  was  a  proposition  that  the  Government 
should  control  the  saltj^etre  mines  in  her  own 
province  of  Tarapaca.  But  even  these  mines  were 
largely  in  possession  of  the  energetic  Chilians,  sup- 
ported by  powerful  organizations  at  Santiago  and 
Valparaiso.  But,  encouraged  by  the  concessions 
Chili  had  made  to  Bolivia,  Peru. enacted  a  law  that 
permitted  only  the  Government  to  export  saltpetre 
from  any  of  her  territorial  ports.  But,  at  the  same 
time,  it  must  be  said  that  she  offered  the  miners  a 
fair  compensation  for  their  mineral.  In  fact,  the 
law  defeated  itself;  for  the  same  authority  that 
enacted  the  law  also  stipulated  that  the  Govern- 
ment should  pay  the  miners  $2.50  for  each  hun- 
dred weight  of  saltpetre  delivered.  This  had  the 
effect  of  flooding  the  market  and  reducing  the 
price  of  that  commodity  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
Government  received  but  little  or  no  profit.  To 
add  still  more  to  the  embarrassment  of  Pera, 
Chilian  miners  made  other  great  discoveries  of  the 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  195 

same  mineral  nearer  to  Antofogasta^  which   threat- 
ened the  market  with  ruinous  prices. 

Probably  somewhat  envious  of  the  continued 
success  of  Chili,  and  stung  by  the  effects  of  her 
own  failures,  as  well  as  having  a  desire  in  some 
manner  to  own  all  the  mines  situated  in  her  own 
territory,  it  seems  that  Peru  quietly  determined  to 
stimulate  the  strife  existing  between  Chili  and 
Bolivia.  On  the  sixth  day  of  January,  1873,  the 
two  nations  secretly  confederated  against  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Chili,  as  an  outcome  of  Peruvian  de- 
sires— at  least  the  Chilians  so  interpreted  the 
alliance,  when  it  became  known  to  them  later.  In 
this  secret  league  the  two  nations  agreed  to  march 
unitedly,  against  any  nation  that  threatened  their 
territorial  integrity.  Peru,  also,  at  the  same  time 
dispatched  an  embassador  to  Buenos  Ayres,  to  in- 
duce the  Argentineans  to  join  this  alliance.  Argen- 
tine, though  cherishing  no  friendly  feelings  toward 
Chili,  refused. 

Peru,  feeling  sure  of  her  footing,  however,  soon 
after  enacted  a  new  law.  authorizing  the  Gov- 
ernment to  purchase  all  the  mines  within  the 
tenitory  of  Tarrapaca.  The  miners  who  refused  to 
sell  were  compelled  to  pay  a  duty  on  their  mine 
produce.  What  this  duty  was  in  amount  I  have 
not  been  able  to  learn,  but  the  Chilians  complain 
of  it  havinp:  been  so  exorbitant  that  no  mines  could 


196  CIVILIZATION  IN   CHILI. 

be  operated,  and  that  in  time  the  miners  were 
compelled  to  sell.  Be  this  as  it  may,  Peru  became 
owner  of  all  the  mines,  and  the  sellers,  it  is  stated, 
were  persuaded  to  receive  their  pay  in  vouchers, 
as  the  Government  was  out  of  money. 

Chili,  not  knowing  of  the  alliance  between  Bo- 
livia and  Peru,  but  feeling  her  inability  to  conduct 
a  war,  in  1874  made  a  new  treaty  with  the  former 
Government,  in  which  great  concessions  were  made. 
All  the  disputed  territory  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Bolivia,  and  all  the  privileges  of  revenue  granted 
in  the  treaty  of  1866  were  annulled;  in  fact,  the 
only  clause  in  the  new  treaty  favorable  to  Chili 
was  one  stipulating  that  Chilian  miners  within 
that  district  should  not  be  subject  to  an  increase 
of  tax  or  duties  for  a  period  of   twenty-five  years. 

This  treaty,  however,  did  not  solve  the  difficult 
problem.  For,  two  years  later,  the  Government  of 
Bolivia  underwent  another  revolution.  That  coun- 
tiy  for  years  had  been  in  a  terrible  state  of 
anarchy.  It  was  a  popular  thing  for  a  general  or 
commander  of  a  body  of  troops  to  seek  out  the 
President,  murder  him  and  usurp  his  power.  For 
many  years  the  presiding  officers  had  all  been 
"elected"  in  that  manner.  This  last  revolution 
gave  the  people  a  violent,  dangerous  man  as  their 
leader.  Law  and  order  were  everywhere  disre- 
garded.    Frequent  assaults  were  made   upon  the 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  197 

miners  in  Atacama.  Of  all  the  people  in  that  min- 
ing district,  eighty-five  per  cent,  were  Chilian  citi- 
zens, all  under  control  of  a  Bolivian  colonel.  Every 
report  sent  to  the  capital  of  Chili  is  said  to  have 
contained  accounts  of  murder  or  some  other  out- 
rage upon  these  citizens.  The  Government  at  La- 
paz,  the  capital  of  Bolivia,  disregarding  the  claims 
of  these  people  to  protection,  issued  a  circular, 
calling  upon  her  officers  to  protect  all  of  her  citi- 
zens against  foreigners,  under  whatever  circum- 
stances. The  question  of  boundary  between  the 
Argentine  Confederation  and  Chili  threatened  war. 
It  was  commonly  reported  that  both  nations  had 
their  armies  in  readiness  to  march  at  a  moment's 
notice,  and  Bolivia,  believing  Chili  to  be  in  no  con- 
dition to  resent  her  insults,  became  more  an'ogant 
than  ever.  On  the  14th  of  February,  1878,  a  law 
was  passed  levying  a  tax  of  ten  cents  on  everj' 
hundred  weight  of  saltpetre  exported.  This  was 
in  direct  violation  of  the  treaty  of  1874,  under 
which  Chili  surrendered  her  claim  to  the  territoiy. 
As  this  tax  was  not  exorbitant,  it  might  have 
been  paid  and  war  avoided,  had  not  the  Bolivians 
wickedly  demanded  of  the  miners  a  back  tax,  due 
under  the  recent  law,  of  $90,000.  This  was  too 
much.  The  miners  refusing  to  pay,  their  property 
was  seized  and  ordered  sold.  The  day  of  the  sale 
Feb.  14th,  1879,  dawned,  but  with  it  came  an  army 


198  CIVILIZATION   IN    OHILI. 

of  Cliilian  soldiers,  who  landed  at  Antofogasta  and 
took  charge  of  the  mines. 

They  met  with  no  resistance.  The  Bolivian 
officers  and  troops  were  deprived  of  the  functions 
of  government,  but  were  permitted  to  retire.  This 
movement  was  received  with  great  joy  in  all  the 
mining  towns  of  the  coast.  But  little  excitement 
prevailed.  Chilian  troops  kept  arriving,  but  their 
actions  were  strictly  limited  to  the  occupation  of 
the  territory  northward  to  the  23d  pai'allel,  which 
covered  the  long  disputed  territory,  and  to  the  pro- 
tection of  her  own  miners  and  their  proj^erty.  The 
Bolivian  troops  numbering  only  sufficient  to  per- 
form police  duty,  the  whole  of  the  territoiy  was  at 
once  given  over  to  Chili  without  resistance.  Cbili 
soon  had  four  thousand  soldiers  in  the  field. 

When  Bolivia  received  notice  of  these  proceed- 
ings, all  the  assembled  officers  of  that  Government 
were  occupied  in  national  festivities.  The  holiday 
lasted  for  twelve  days,  and  President  Daza,  who 
had  received  the  message,  did  not  make  it  known 
even  to  his  Cabinet  officers  until  the  carnival  was 
ended,  the  26th  of  the  same  month.  He  then  as- 
sembled his  officers,  and  with  their  united  coun- 
sels, sent  out  printed  circulars  announcing  the 
facts  to  the  people,  and  denouncing  the  Chilians 
as  cowards,  bandits,  murderers,  a  people  depraved 
by    miseiy    and  vice,  and  enriched  by   treasures 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  199 

stolen  from  the  Bolivian  people.  He  next  de- 
creed the  expiilsion  of  all  Chilians  from  Atacama, 
a  sale  of  their  mines  and  the  confiscation  of  all 
other  property  found. 

Sixteen  generals,  about  one  hundred  colonels, 
and  seven  hundred  inferior  officers  then  signed  a 
written  compact,  in  which  they  bound  themselves 
to  rid  the  territory  of  the  Chilians,  or  seal  their 
vows  with  their  own  blood. 

The  condition  of  the  standing  army  of  Bolivia 
at  this  time  was  somewhat  noteworthy.  When 
Pi-esident  Daza  usurped  the  powers  of  government, 
in  order  to  strengthen  his  own  cause,  he  elevated 
all  the  men^in  the  army  of  any  note  or  preten- 
sions to  high  offices  and  still  higher  pay.  In  the 
standing  army  there  were  2,232  common  soldiers, 
and  one  thousand  officers.  Twenty-two  of  the  lat- 
ter were  generals,  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
were  colonels,  and  seventy-two  were  captains. 
One  battalion,  known  as  the  chief  supporters  of 
state,  consisted  of  540  men,  367  of  whom  were 
officers.  With  this  condition  of  afiairs,  it  can 
readily  be  seen  that  but  little  patriotism  existed. 

A  great  difficulty  presented  itself  to  the  Boliv- 
ians. In  order  to  reach  the^scenes  of  trouble,  it 
was  necessary  to  march  an  army  across  the  moun- 
tains, which  could  only  be  accomplished  by  rough 
and  dangerous  passes,  and   then  to  endure   the 


200  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

heat  of  the  desert  for  many  miles,  for  which  ample 
provisions  of  food,  clothing,  and  even  for  carrying 
water  had  to  be  made. 

Chili,  upon  hearing  the  declaration  of  war  made 
against  her,  ordered  her  soldiers  to  the  north. 
Every  town  on  the  Bolivian  coast  clear  up  to  the 
Peruvian  line  fell  into  her  possession  without  any 
show  of  resistance,  excepting  the  small  mining 
town  of  Calama.  Here  the  Bolivian  soldiers,  who 
had  been  generously  allowed  to  retire  from  the 
mining  towns  in  Atacama,  made  a  stand.  A  trooj) 
of  Chilian  soldiers  appeared  before  this  town  on 
the  23d  of  March  and  were  fired  upon.  A  short 
battle  ensued,  in  which  twenty  Bolivians  were  slain , 
thirty  were  made  prisoners  and  the  rest  put  to 
flight.  Chilians  lost  twelve  in  killed  and  wounded. 
The  aristocratic  army  from  Lapaz,  not  caring  to 
endure  the  hardships  of  the  mountains  and  desert, 
never  put  in  an  apjjearance  on  the  coast.  They 
had  done  all  their  fighting  on  paper.  And  as 
Chili  had  neither  the  desire  nor  the  necessary  force 
to  j^enetrate  the  interior  of  Bolivia,  the  war  with 
that  country  was  practically  at  an  end  and  the  long 
standing  war  with  Peru  about  to  commence. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Excited  PeruvianSr-Tliey  demand  "War  with  the  Chilians— Ig- 
uacio  Prado — A  Mob — Peruvian  Congress  Requests  the 
Withdrawal  of  Chili's  Troops  from  Atacama— Peru's  Pre- 
parations— A  Secret  Alliance  with  Bolivia  Declared — Chili 
Declares  War — The  Condition  of  the  Two  Armies— Block- 
ade of  Iquique — President  Prado  Sails  for  Fields  of  Action 
—The  Huascar  and  the  Esmeralda — A  Fighting  Retreat— 
Rrave  Resistance  of  Arturo  Pratte — Overthrow  of  the  Pe- 
ruvian Man-of-War — Efifects  of  the  Battle  on  Chili — Sloth- 
ful Peru— Another  Sea  Fight — Battle  of  Pisagua — Iquique 
and  Dolores  Vacated — Prado  and  General  Daza  flee  to 
Europe — Battle  of  Tacna — Battle  of  Arica — The  Mines — 
Savage  Warfare— Sinking  of  a  Vessel — The  Result  of  the 
Battle. 

^^^HEN  news  was  received  at  Lima  that  Chilian 
V^l  soldiers  had  taken  possession  of  Atacama, 
^  ▼  great  was  the  excitement  of  the  Peruvians. 
There  was  but  one  opinion — "Chili  must  be  pun- 
ished"— and  as  Peru  had  the  best  navy,  the  largest 
and,  as  they  believed,  the  best-disciplined  standing 
army  of  any  of  the  Pacific  States,  this  appeared  to 
be  a  matter  of  easy  undertaking.  They  were  very 
certain  that  had  Chili  known  of  the  secret  alliance  ex- 
isting between  the  two  nations,  there  would  have 
been  no  war.  They  were  also  certain  that  in  case  of 
continued  hostilities,  not  with  Bolivia  alone,  but  with 


20^  CIVILIZATION  IN   CHILI. 

the  combined  armies  of  both  nations,  there  could 
be  but  one  result — the  speedy  ovei-throw  of  the 
Chilian  Republic;  and  they  therefore  exulted  over 
the  good  fortune  that,  seemingly,  had  placed  that 
nation  within  easy  cast  of  the  net  long  and  secretly 
spread  for  its  downfall .  As  the  Chilians  were  un- 
used to  warfare,  having  lived  in  peace  with  them- 
selves and  their  neighbors  for  many  years,  they  were 
accounted  effeminate  and  cowardly.  On  the  other 
hand,  both  Bolivia  and  Peru  had  long  maintained  a 
condition  of  civil  warfare  that  had  inured  their  sol- 
diers to  the  hardships  of  the  field,  as  well  as  to  the 
scenes  of  battle;  and  it  was  confidently  expected 
that,  ere  long,  the  Chilian  songs  of  triumph  over 
easy  possession  of  Atacama  would  be  turned  to 
lamentations. 

Manuel  Ignacio  Prado,  the  President  of  Peru, 
was  the  only  man  of  his  nation  who  did  not  desire 
war.  But  a  few  years  had  elapsed  since  he  had 
been  compelled  to  flee  before  a  furious  mob  that 
had  created  a  new  revolution  also  characteristic  of 
that  country.  He  took  refuge  under  the  friendly 
protection  of  the  Chilian  Government,  and  though 
a  man  of  no  high  order,  he  could  not  forget  that 
Chili  had  given  him  a  home  for  over  seven  years, 
till  a  new  revolution  in  Lis  own  country  again  re- 
stored him  to  power.  The  Peruvians  suspecting 
this,  a  furious  mob  appeared  before  the  doors  of 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  203 

the  municipal  palace  and  demanded  Lis  intentions. 
Prado  saw  that  he  must  renounce  Chili  or  lose  his 
life.  Addressing  the  mob  with  the  utmost  calm- 
ness, he  said:  "Gentlemen,  and  fellow-protectors 
of  the  Government  and  liberties  of  Peru:  I  only 
ask  that  you  prove  me.  Chili  desires  war.  Let  us 
see  to  it  that  she  is  satisfied." 

Congi-ess,  however,  advised  that  war  should  not 
be  declared,  but  that  Chili  should  ba  requested  to 
withdraw  all  troops  from  Bolivian  territory.  The 
cramped  financial  condition  of  the  country  is  all, 
perhaj)s,  that  induced  the  Peruvians  to  act  upon 
this  advice.  Accordingly  an  ambassador  was  dis- 
patched to  Santiago,  carrying  with  him  the  secret 
treaty  of  1872,  between  his  nation  and  Bolivia. 
He  first  offered  the  services  of  his  Government  as 
mediator  between  the  Bolivian  Government  and 
that  of  Chili.  This  act  of  seeming  kindness  was  at 
once  accepted;  but  his  next  step  was  to  require 
the  removal  of  all  troops  from  Bolivian  territory, 
in  order,  as  he  expressed  it,  "to  make  sure  of  the 
acceptance  of  the  mediatorial  office  by  that  coun- 
try also."     This  was  promptly  refused. 

In  the  meantime  Peru  improved  the  time  by  con- 
centrating the  army  and  strengthening  the  navy 
with  new  vessels  and  more  men.  Some  men-of- 
war  were  sent  south  and  were  seen  cruisiilg  around 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Bolivian  coast  occupied 


204  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

by  the  Chilian  soldiers.  When  all  this  became 
known  in  Santiago,  the  Peruvian  minister  was 
called  upon  to  define  the  attitude  of  his  Govern- 
ment. Delay  was  required;  but  after  some  inef- 
fectual diplomatic  quibbling,  the  existence  of  a 
secret  confederation  was  declared.  Peru  believed 
that  Chili  would  now  withdraw  her  troops,  but  in- 
stead, without  hesitation  or  delay,  she  declared 
war. 

The  standing  army  of  Peru  at  this  time  con- 
sisted of  8,096  men,  of  whom  3,896  were  officers, 
and  4,200  common  soldiers.  The  navy  was  quite 
a  formidable  affair,  and  was  believed  to  be  the 
best  equipped  and  best  drilled  of  any  belonging  to 
the  Pacific  States.  It  consisted  of  four  iron-clads, 
a  frigate  of  eighteen  guns,  the  montiors  Huascar, 
Atahualpa  and  Manca  Capac,  and  twenty  smaller 
vessels.  To  sustain  the  two  armies  cost  the  Govern- 
ment, for  salaries  alone,  an  outlay  of  nine  million 
dollars  a  year.  Many  revolutions  had  made  Peru, 
seemingly,  a  warlike  nation;  but  in  reality  it  had 
lost  in  patriotism  and  had  become  effeminated  by 
sustaining  in  idleness  many  influential  men  at  pub- 
lic expense. 

The  forces  of  Chili  numbered  only  2,440  men, 
410  of  whom  belonged  to  the  artillery  and  530  to 
the  cavalry.  The  marine  contained  two  frigates  of 
twelve  cannons  each,  three  wooden  vessels,    and 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  205 

four  small  ships,  said  to  be  old  and  almost  useless. 

With  all  these  odds  against  Chili,  coupled  with 
the  fact  that  the  combined  population  of  Peni  and 
Bolivia  was  more  than  trijDle  her  own,  it  was  be- 
lieved, even  in  Europe  and  North  America,  that 
but  one  result  would  follow—  and  that,  the  speedy 
overthrow  of  the  Chilians.  But  these  people  had 
one  great  advantage  over  their  enemies;  they  had 
a  stable  government,  where  revolutions  were  only 
known  as  events  of  history,  and  where  eveiy  man 
was  a  true  patriot. 

When  war  was  declared,  they  lost  no  time  in  es- 
tablishing the  blockade  of  Iquique — the  principal 
port  of  Tarapaca  and  a  great  center  of  exports  of 
saltpetre.  This  was  occuj^ied  by  three  thousand 
Peruvian  soldiers.  All  military  operations  were 
of  but  little  moment,  however,  until  the  16th  of 
May,  when  President  Prado  sailed  from  Callao 
with  a  large  fleet.  His  plan  was  to  raise  the 
blockade  at  Iquique,  sail  south  and  subjugate  all 
the  coast  towns  of  Chili.  But  learning  that  the 
Chilian  fleet  had  sailed  northward,  and  that  only 
two  small  vessels  maintained  the  blockade,  he 
deemed  it  prudent  to  protect  his  own  coast,  con- 
tenting himself  by  sending  two  of  his  largest  ships 
to  Iquique,  one  of  which  was  the  monitov  Huascar . 
The  two  Chilian  vessels  at  this  place  were  un- 
der the  control    of    two    young    officers,  Arturo 


206  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

Pratte  and  Carlos  Condell.    Their  whole  mission 
was  to  shut  up  the  port,  but  on   sighting  the  two 
Peruvian    ships   bearing  upon  them,  they   sailed 
boldly  to   the   attack.     This   was   May   the    21  st. 
Officer  Pratte's  vessel,  the  Esmeralda,  was  singled 
out  by  the  HuaHcar,  and   the   other   Chilian   ship 
was  followed  south  by  Peru's  second   man-of-war 
in  a  fighting  retreat.     The  people  at  Iquique  for 
awhile  witnessed   an  equal   contest;  but  soon  the 
Euascar  determined  to  crush  the  feeble  Esmeralda, 
and  bore  down  upon  her  wooden   hull  to  part  it 
assunder.      Pratte,   at   the   moment   of   collision, 
leaped  upon  the  Peruvian  vessel,  calling  upon  his 
men  to  follow,  but  the  vessels  separating,  he  was 
left  standing  upon  the  enemy's  deck  with  but  one 
man  to  support  him.     Both  were  riddled  with  bul- 
lets; but   their   death   inspired  the   Chilians  with 
greater   determination.     A   young   lieutenant,  as- 
suming command,  called  upon  his  fellow-soldiers 
to    carry    the    battle    to    death.       The    Huascar 
again    bore     down     upon     the     Esmeralda,     be- 
lieving    that     one      more      blow     would     split 
her  in    twain.      Lieutenant  Ignacio  Serrana  with 
f  oui'teen  men  sprang  on  the  deck  of  the  approaching 
vessel,  only  to  be  mown  down   as   stubble.     The 
Euascar  again  struck  the  broken  vessel,   when   it 
parted  asunder.     "Viva  Chila  !"  rang  out  from  the 
remaining  spirited  Chilians,  as   they  swung  their 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  207 

hats,  and  with  their  shattered  vessel  sank  out  of 
sight.  The  engagement  had  lasted  four  hours,  but 
the  ii'on  ship  Huasrar  was  not  injured  and  had  lost 
but  one  officer. 

The  other  Chilian  vessel,  Covadonga,  a  mere 
boat  containing  but  two  guns,  maintained  itself  in 
a  fighting  retreat  for  hours;  when  reaching  famil- 
iar waters  it  sailed  boldly  into  a  dangerous  recess 
containing  many  hidden  breakers.  The  powerful 
Peruvian  vessel,  not  suspecting  the  trap,  thought 
victory  within  easy  reach,  when  all  of  a  sudden  it 
struck  a  hidden  rock  and  went  to  pieces.  The 
Covadonga  was  but  little  injured. 

Considering  the  vast  difference  in  the  combat- 
ants. Chili,  notwithstanding  the  total  destruction 
of  the  Esmeralda,  regarded  this  first  battle  in  the 
light  of  a  great  victory.  In  fact,  to  them  it  was 
such;  for  when  war  was  first  declared  against  Peru, 
many  of  the  leading  men  were  doubtful  as  to  the 
results,  and  feared  that  a  great  mistake  had  been 
made.  As  time  wore  on  and  but  little  was  accom- 
plished, this  feeling  grew  stronger.  There  were 
but  few  soldiers,  no  munitions  of  war,  no  money, 
but  a  feeble  navy,  and  every  town  and  port  along 
the  coast  was  exposed  to  attack  from  Peru's  superior 
naval  forces.  The  country  seemed  upon  the  eve  of  a 
revolution;  but  now  this  heroic  resistance  of  Pratte 
and   his  brave  followers   sent  a   thrill  of    delight 


208  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

throughout  the  nation.  The  first  battle  touched 
patriotism  to  the  veiy  core,  and  the  country  be- 
came a  consolidated  union,  and  Pratte  an  imperish- 
able hero.  The  little  army  was  greatly  encouraged, 
and  Peru  had  at  least  learned  the  true  character  of 
her  foemen. 

Six  months  passed  without  further  effectual 
warfare.  Three  thousand  soldiers  in  Chili  were 
without  arms;  and  the  Peruvian  monitor,  Hiiascar, 
became  a  terror  to  all  the -towns  along  the  coast. 
Had  Peru  seized  this  golden  oj)portunity,  and 
landed  her  whole  available  army  upon  Chilian 
soil,  she  might  have  easily  subjugated  the  whole 
nation.  But  all  her  generals  boiled  down 
to  a  single  individual  would  not  have  made  a  good 
commander;  and  instead  of  seizing  the  opportunity 
offered  by  Chili's  needy  condition,  she  contented 
herself  in  allowing  her  greatest  men-of-war  to  slip 
into  the  enemy's  open  harbors  and  destroy  their 
small  transports  and  puy  galleys,  and  in  beholding 
her  foemen  daily  accumulating  strength. 

The  first  of  October,  Chili,  having  received  arms 
and  ammunition  from  Europe,  dispatched  a  fleet 
to  capture  the  dreaded  Peruvian  monitor.  On  the 
ninth  instant  one  of  these  vessels,  the  Cochrane, 
came  into  contact  with  the  Huascar  near  Mejillones, 
and  compelled  it  to  give  battle.  Early  in  the  en- 
gagement its  tower  was  carried  away,  and   at   the 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  209 

same  time  the  chief  commander  of  the  Peruvian 
navy  and  two  other  officers  of  high  rank  were 
killed.  As  this  juncture  the  Cochrane  was  joined 
by  the  Blanco  and  other  vessels,  and  in  one  hour 
and  a  half  the  Huascar  surrendered,  with  twenty- 
eight  officers  and  one  hundred  men.  This  was  a 
great  prize.  Chili's  loss  was  one  killed  and  nine 
wounded.  Peru  lost  the  flower  of  her  navy,  and 
her  most  intelligent  marine  officer.  The  captured 
vessel  was  repaii'ed  and  put  at  the  head  of  the 
Chilian  fleets,  which  at  the  same  time  were  further 
strengthened  by  a  large  vessel  purchased  from 
Europe. 

Chili  now  had  16,000  soldiers,  all  well  equipped, 
and  the  navy  had  been  greatly  increased.  Ten 
thousand  picked  men  and  nineteen  ships  com- 
menced the  war  in  earnest  by  moving  north  to  in- 
vade Peru.  For  hundreds  of  miles  the  whole  coast 
is  barren — almost  destitute  of  fresh  water  and  vege- 
tation, so  that  the  soldiers  of  this  campaign  were, 
compelled  to  carry  with  them  food  and  water  for 
man  and  beast.  Then-  first  point  of  attack,  there- 
fore, was  the  mining  town  of  Pisagua,  in  Terra- 
paca,  where  the  Peruvians  had  immense  machinery 
for  condensing  fresh  water  from  the  briny  ocean. 
After  a  sharp  battle,  which  lasted  five  hours,  this 
town  was  taken.  During  the  same  month,  Novem- 
ber, Iquique  was  vacated,  and  Dolores  and  the  cap- 


210 


CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 


ital  city  of  Terrapaca  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Chilians,  leaving  them  masters  of  the  whole  of  that 
province. 

In  studying  this  history  the  student  is  forcibly 
impressed  with  two  important  facts  concerning 
both  Peru  and  Bolivia,  viz:  (1.)  No  one  had  any 
confidence  in  the  stability  of  those  governments. 
So  numerous  had  been  the  revolutions  that  faith 
in  the  actions  of  any  general  or  commander  of 
high  standing  was  limited  to  a  knowledge  of  his 
daily  actions.  The  Presidents  always  lived  in 
dread,  for  none  could  tell  when  the  assassin's  knife 
would  be  used  in  his  removal,  to  make  room  for 
some  aspiring  chief.  This  lack  of  confidence  was 
general,  but  particularly  manifest  among  the  com- 
mon soldiers.  (2)  There  was  a  wonderful  want  of 
patriotism,  for  none  felt  enthusiastic  in  offering  his 
life  in  a  cause  that  he  could  not  respect. 

At  about  this  juncture  some  very  important 
changes  occurred  in  the  Peruvian  army.  Presi- 
dent Prado,  fearing  a  threatened  revolution,  secret- 
ly resolved  to  flee  the  country;  but  not  wishing  to 
leave  it  wholly  unprovided  with  executive  powers, 
he  aj)pointed  General  Daza,  President  of  Bolivia, 
Commander  in  Chief  of  the  army.  Daza  had  lisen 
from  the  ranks  of  a  common  soldier,  and,  although 
possessing  considerable  ability,  he  was  very  igno- 
rant and   tyrannical,  and  was  thoroughly  hated  by 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  211 

the  Peruvian  officers.  They  soon  requested  him 
to  resign,  and  carried  matters  so  far  as  to  threaten 
revolt;  but  to  this  he  j)aid  not  the  slightest  atten- 
tion. He  believed  that  as  long  as  his  favorite  regi- 
ment, "Chief  Supporters  of  State,"  upheld  him,  he 
had  nothing  to  fear.  One  day,  however,  the  whole 
of  that  regiment,  divested  of  clothing,  plunged  in- 
to the  sea  to  bathe,  when  other  regiments  coming 
up  their  guns  were  seized  and  the  "Supporters" 
were  all  taken  prisoners.  Daza,  knowing  too  well 
the  meaning  of  such  maneuvers,  fled  to  Europe. 
Thus  both  countries  were  deprived  of  their  execu- 
tive heads,  and  many  chiefs  and  men  of  wealth  and 
influence  followed  suit,  carrying  with  them  as  much 
of  their  wealth  as  could  be  converted  into  gold. 

On  the  26th  of  May,  1880,  the  Chilians  appeared 
before  Tacna,  inland  from  the  coast  town  of  Arica 
about  thirty  miles,  to  reach  which  they  had  to 
undergo  the  greatest  privations.  In  order  to  se- 
cure secrecy  it  was  necessary  to  traverse  a  desert  of 
hot,  bm'ning  sand  for  a  distance  of  nearly  four 
hundred  miles.  Horses  and  mules  became  ex- 
hausted and  died  from  thirst,  but  the  soldiers,  re- 
duced to  such  straits  that  they  were  compelled  to 
drink  one  another's  mictuiitions,  dragged  the  can- 
nons by  hand,  and  weary  and  exhausted,  appeared 
before  the  fortified  town.  All  other  hope  of  life 
was  cut  off — they  must  take  the  forts  or  die.     For- 


212  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

tune  favored  them,  for  the  Peruvians,  learning  of 
their  near  approach,  sent  out  six  hundred  fresh 
men  to  give  them  battle.  While  the  Chilians,  with 
parched  lips  and  swollen  tongues,  were  dragging 
themselves  wearily  around  one  side  of  a  long  sand 
hill,  the  Peruvians  marched  around  the  other. 
That  saved  them,  for  it  is  certain  that  had  they  been 
attacked  in  the  sorrowful  condition  of  their  weary 
march,  they  would  have  been  overthrown,  and  per- 
haps the  whole  drift  of  war  would  have  been 
changed.  As  it  was,  when  they  reached  the  forts 
they  attacked  them  with  the  energy  of  despair, 
and  soon  carried  everything  before  them,  though 
it  cost  the  lives  of  2,128  men.  This  opened  the 
way  for  the  attack  upon  Arica,  the  second  military 
post  in  importance  in  Peru. 

That  city  had  a  strong  defense.  An  abrupt  hill, 
almost  one  thousand  feet  high,  known  as  Morrow 
(long  "o"),  towered  above  it  in  close  proximity,  and 
ended  in  a  rocky  precipice  of  fearful  height  that 
overlooked  the  bay.  The  battery  planted  on  top 
could  sweep  the  enemy  approaching  either  by 
land  or  water.  The  hill  and  the  harbor  formed 
two  sides  of  a  triangle,  lying  snug  and  close  to  the 
city.  The  other  open  side  on  the  south  was  de- 
fended by  three  lines  of  breastworks  composed  of 
sacks  of  sand.  Besides,  there  were  eighty-five 
mines  of  dynamite  within  the  limits  of  the  fort, 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  213 

which,  in  case  of  emergency,  were  to  be  exploded 
by  electric  wires  from  the  heights  of  Morrow. 
The  harbor  was  guarded  by  the  monitor  Manco 
Gapac,  of  two  five-hundred-pound  guns. 

On  the  6th  day  of  June,  the  Chilians  appeared 
before  this  fort  with  four  thousand  men,  supported 
by  four  of  the  best  men-of-war.  After  bombard- 
ing the  fort,  they  made  a  demand  of  unconditional 
surrender,  which  was  refused.  They  then  deter- 
mined to  carry  the  city  by  storm,  which  appears 
to  be  their  favorite  mode  of  warfare.  The  land 
forces  were  divided  into  three  divisions,  one  of 
which  was  to  charge  the  breastworks  on  the  south, 
a  second  to  storm  the  heights  of  Morrow,  and  the 
third  held  as  a  reserve  to  assist  either  of  the 
attacking  divisions  in  case  of  emergency.  During 
the  night  the  first  division,  without  being  observed, 
marched  close  to  the  outer  breastworks  and  rested 
on  their  arms.  At  the  dawn  of  day  they  made  the 
charge,  and  successfully  entered  the  fort.  The 
Peruvians,  dejDending  more  upon  their  mines  of 
dynamite  than  upon  their  arms,  fled  toward  Mor- 
row and  proceeded  to  apply  the  electric  spark. 
But  a  fatal  blunder  was  made,  and  instead  of  fir- 
ing the  outer  mines,  two  of  the  inner  ones  explod- 
ed, carrying  into  the  air  over  two  hundred  Peru- 
vian soldiers.  Great  was  the  consternation;  and 
while  the  defenders  of  Morrow  were  sfivint'"  their 


214  CIVILIZATION  m  CHUii. 

attention  to  the  side  of  the  hill  overlooking  the 
city,  the  second  division  of  Chilian  soldiers  crossed 
the  breastworks  defending  the  other  side.  It  is 
rejDorted  that  a  young  Bolivian  lieutenant,  seeing 
that  all  was  lost,  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  rode 
over  the  perpendicular  precipice,  almost  a  thou- 
sand feet  in  height.  The  victors,  maddened  at 
the  attempt  to  blow  them  in  the  air,  raised  the  cry, 
"No  prisoners  to-day;"  and  before  their  fury 
could  be  controlled,  more  than  four  hundred 
Peruvian  soldiers  were  crowded  over  the  same 
precipice  at  the  bayonet's  point.  It  was  a  terrible 
affair.  Many  of  the  poor  \dctims  lodged  on  pro- 
jecting rocks  or  crags,  and  remained  there  for 
months,  until  they  withered  away  as  dust,  monu- 
ments of  that  great  destruction  and  needless  cruel- 
ty. The  battle  was  short.  The  impetuous  and 
irresistible  activity  of  the  Chilians  had  carried 
everything,  and  left  them  masters  of  that  Peruvian 
stronghold  inside  of  sixty  minutes  from  com- 
mencement of  the  battle. 

The  Manco  Capac,  however,  was  still  master  of 
the  harbor;  but  observing  the  fort  in  the  enemy's 
hands  the  officers  and  crew  quitted  the  vessel,  after 
which  it  was  sunken  in  deep  water. 

In  this  battle  Chili  sustained  a  loss  of  362  men 
in  killed  and  wounded;  but  they  gained  great 
quantities  of  ammunition  and   provision,  besides 


PAST    AND   PKE8ENT.  215 

taking  twenty-one  large  cannons,  numerous 
stands  of  small  arms,  and  1,328  prisoners.  Eighty- 
three  of  the  mines  of  dynamite  were  not  exploded. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

New  Presidents — Internal  Dissensions — Withdrawal  of  Boliv- 
ian Troops — Seeking  Aid — 50,000  Men  on  Paper — Chili's 
Third  Expedition — Destruction  of  Property — A  Eich  Haul 
— Mediation  of  the  United  States — A  Greedy  Syndicate  of 
New  York — Chilian  Forces  on  the  Move — Inland  Towns 
Capitulate — Peruvian  Women  in  Arms — The  Great  Battle 
of  San  Juan — Battle  of  Chorillos — Horrible  Butchery  of 
Peruvian  Soldiers — Begging  in  Vain  for  Mercy — Mines  in 
the  Pumps — Resistance  unto  Death — Women  and  Children 
Cut  to  Pieces — Flight  of  Pierola — The  Soldiers  in  Lima 
Disarmed — A  Night  of  Carnage  by  a  Mob — The  Chilians 
Enter  Lima — The  End  of  the  War — Treaty  of  Peace  with 
Peru,  and  a  Truce  with  Bolivia. 

/a^lENERAL  PIEROLA  was  now  appointed  Dic- 
y^Yi  tator  of  Peru,  and  General  Campero  became 
"  President  of  Bolivia.  Measures  calculated 
to  add  to  the  great  discomfiture  of  the  former  na- 
tion were  constantly  being  enacted.  The  soldiers 
of  that  country  threw  the  responsibility  of  the 
defeat  at  Arica  and  Tacna  upon  the  Bolivians. 
"Had  not  Daza,"  they  said,  ''deserted  the  army, 
the  soldiers  would  have  had  more  confidence,  and 
the  disgrace  and  great  disasters  might  have  been 
averted."  The  Bolivians  retorted  by  reminding 
them  of  Prado,  and  also  by  accusing  them  of  acting 


PAST    AND    PKESENT.  217 

the  part  of  cowards;  whereupon  a  mutual  distrust 
and  a  bitter  jealousy  sprang  up  between  the  two 
armies.  There  was  confidence  nowhere  nor  in 
anybody.  The  common  soldiers,  naturally  brave 
and  obedient,  and  perfectly  willing  to  be  led  to  the 
defense  of  their  country,  were  rendered  almost 
powerless  from  the  extreme  lack  of  military  genius 
or  powers  to  govern,  and  from  the  great  distrust 
with  which  they  regarded  their  leaders;  and  the 
officers  themselves,  endeavoring  to  hide  their  lack 
of  patriotism  and  their  inability  by  wordy  prom- 
ises, were  none  the  less  bitter  and  jealous  of  each 
other.  Instead  of  gathering  strength  for  a  conflict 
with  a  nation  determined  and  patriotic  to  the  core, 
the  Peruvian  army  stood  on  the  veiy  verge  of  dis- 
integration, and  in  the  very  midst  of  these  perplex- 
ities the  Bolivian  troops  withdi'ew  far  into  the  in- 
terior of  their  own  country,  away  from  the  scenes 
of  battle. 

In  her  despair,  Peru  again  sought  an  alliance 
with  Ai'gentine,  and  as  an  inducement  to  that  na- 
tion to  join  issue  against  Chili,  offered  three-fourths 
of  all  the  spoils  of  war,  including  territory.  Failing 
in  this,  she  turned  towards  Spain  and  knocked 
loudly  at  the  door  of  the  courts  of  Madrid,  in  hopes 
that  the  Spaniards  would  not  allow  this  oj)portunity 
to  pass  without  interfering  to  punish  Chili,  against 
whom  it  was  said  she  held  a  grudge  since  the  colo- 


218  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

nial  days  of  the  latter  country.  Spain,  however, 
was  neutral,  and  the  Dictator,  persuaded  that  he 
must  fight  his  battles  alone,  announced  that  his 
army  had  been  increased  to  50,000  men,  and  ^that 
he  should  speedily  march  to  the  overthrow  of  the 
enemy.  In  the  meantime,  the  active  Chilians  had 
established  the  blockade  of  the  seaport  of  Callao, 
within  seven  miles  of  Lima,  the  cajiital  city  of  Peru. 
Chili  now  determined  upon  the  thu'd  expedition 
under  command  of  Gen.  Patricio  Lynch.  The 
fourth  of  September  he  sailed  northward  from 
Arica  with  three  thousand  men,  and  six  days  later 
disembarked  at  the  town,  Chimbote,  bordering  on 
the  great  agricultui'al  district  of  Peru.  As  he  ex- 
pected, the  blockade  of  Callao  had  called  all  the 
soldiers  to  Lima,  in  exj)ectation  of  a  great  battle, 
and  none  were  left  to  resist  him.  Lynch  marched 
into  the  interior,  in  the  very  heart  of  a  rich  sugar- 
refining  district,  imposing  heavy  fines  upon  the 
people,  which  they  were  required  to  pay  in  gold 
and  silver.  All  towns  and  manufactories  refusing 
to  pay  his  exorbitant  tax  were  razed  to  the  ground. 
In  two  months'  time  he  returned,  having  overrun 
the  richest  agricultural  district  of  the  State,  de- 
stroyed millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  property, 
captured  a  Peruvian  vessel  containing  $7,000,000 
in  paper  money  and  $375,000  in  postage  stamps, 
and  laid  down  for  his  Grovernment,  besides  almost 


PAST    AND    PRE8EKT.  219 

$150,000  in  gold,  $12,000  in  silver,  and  immense 
quantities  of  valuable  merchandise. 

The  great  destruction  of  life  and  property  in- 
duced Great  Britian  and  the  United  States  to  offer 
their  friendly  mediation  in  hopes  of  reconciling  the 
belligerents.  The  latter  country  was  accepted;  but 
as  Peru  had  made  overtures  to  some  wealthy  par- 
ties in  New  York,  a  greedy  syndicate  of  American 
capitalists  was  formed,  that  stood  ready  to  gobble 
the  rich  mining  district  of  Tarrapaca  as  a  result  of 
the  mediation.  This  was  a  deep  insult  to  Chili. 
However,  two  councils  were  held  at  which  represen- 
tatives from  the  three  nations  were  present,  as  well 
as  the  American  plenipotentiaries  to  Peru  and 
Chili.  But,  as  the  latter  countiy  was  firm  in  de- 
manding the  territories  of  Tarrapaca  and  Antofo- 
gasta,  as  well  as  a  war  indemnity  of  $20,000,000; 
and  as  Peru  and  Bolivia  were  determined  that 
nothing  but  an  indemnity  should  be  given ,  which 
it  was  believed  the  American  syndicate  stood  ready 
to  pay,  nothing  was  accomplished. 

These  negotiations  did  not  prevent  the  Chilians 
from  making  further  extensive  preparations  for 
carrying  on  the  war.  General  Baquedano,  the 
commander  in  chief  of  the  army,  was  all  activity. 
The  infantry  was  largely  increased.  New  imple- 
ments of  war  and  ammunitions  were  constantly  ar- 
riving from  Europe.     The  army  was  concentrated, 


220  CIVILIZATION  IN   CHILI. 

the  navy  put  in  more  perfect  order,  and  25,000 
troops  turned  their  faces  toward  the  Peruvian  capi- 
tal. 

On  the  15th  of  November  the  first  division  of 
this  army  left  Arica  in  transports.  In  four  days 
they  disembarked  at  Paracas,  ten  miles  south  of 
Pisco,  and  Chief  Lynch  demanded  the  surrender 
of  the  town.  This  the  Peruvians  refused,  but  dur- 
ing the  night  they  fled,  and  Pisco  was  occupied 
without  bloodshed.  Two  days  later,  lea,  an  inland 
town,  was  captured  without  firing  a  shot.  In  the 
meantime  the  Peruvian  official  who  deserted  Pisco 
took  up  his  station  at  a  point  where  he  could  inter- 
cept telegraphic  communication,  and  kept  up  the 
appearance  with  his  Government  of  fighting  the 
enemy.  "The  bombardment  has  commenced," 
said  the  dispatch,  and  later,  "We  will  resist  till  we 
die."  The  newspapers  at  Lima,  commenting  upon 
this,  jDromised  the  people  a  great  victoiy,  and  as- 
sured them  that  the  tide  of  war  had  turned  in  their 
favor.  Telegrams  were  also  sent  abroad  announc- 
ing the  Peruvians'  success. 

The  second  division  of  the  Chilian  army  left 
Arica  and  landed  on  the  desert  coast  about  twenty 
miles  south  of  Lima,  on  the  22nd  of  December. 
Lynch  advanced  northward  at  the  same  time  to- 
wai'd  the  capital  city.  Peru  was  now  well  under 
arms.     Even   armed  bands  of  women  fired  upon 


PAST    AND   PEE8ENT.  221 

Lyncli  in  this  march;  but  that  inhuman  monster 
not  only  killed  them  all,  but  he  levied  heavy  fines 
upon  the  remaining  inhabitants  in  the  district 
where  they  were  organized.  On  the  25th  of  the 
same  month,  two  divisions  united  at  Curayaco, 
giving  a  force  of  26,500  men. 

The  outer  fortification  of  Lima  was  a  stronghold 
named  San  Juan,  after  a  neighboring  farm,  and  this 
the  Chilians  determined  to  occupy  at  all  hazards  as 
an  entering  wedge  to  the  Peruvian  caj^ital.  On 
the  morning  of  the  13th  of  January,  1881,  the  en- 
tire army  ajjpeared  before  this  fort  and  commenced 
the  attack.  In  a  few  minutes  the  outer  works 
were  earned  by  storm,  and  by  nine  o'clock  the  en- 
tire field  was  won. 

Near  San  Juan  was  another  still  stronger  fort 
protecting  the  town  of  Cborillos.  Many  hills  and 
highlands  overlooking  the  town  were  fortified  and 
defended  by  strong  batteries,  on  one  of  which  was 
General  Iglesias,  Penivian  Secretary  of  War,  with 
five  thousand  men.  Pierola  was  also  at  this  time 
at  Chorillos.  The  Chilians,  under  a  terrific  fire, 
stormed  the  outer  forts  in  less  than  one  hour  after 
the  surrender  of  San  Juan.  Hundreds  of  them 
were  mown  down,  but  encouraged  by  their  leaders, 
they  pressed  onward,  daunted  by  no  obstacle.  By 
twelve  o'clock  the  outer  works  were  all  carried,  and 
Iglesias  was  taken  prisoner.     The    Peruvians    re- 


222  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

sorted  to  their  old  trick  of  exploding  mines  when 
the  Chilians  had  fairly  gained  the  ground,  and 
then  commenced  one  of  the  most  dreadful  scenes 
ever  recorded  in  the  annals  of  civilized  warfare. 
It  appears  that  around  the  forts  were  many  small 
corrals  or  pastures,  fenced  in,  so  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  pass  in  or  out  of  them  excepting  through 
gates.  Into  these  the  retreating  Peruvians  fled, 
and,  being  pursued  by  the  Chilians,  got  down  on 
their  knees  and  begged  for  mercy;  but  the  Chilians, 
who  were  armed  with  axes  and  swords,  in  the  most 
inhuman  manner  proceeded  to  j)ut  them  all  to  death. 
One  of  the  leading  Chilian  papers  published  at 
Valparaiso,  El  Mercurio  Bel  Vapor,  commenting 
upon  this,  calls  the  inhuman  soldiers  braves,  and 
speaks  of  their  fiendish  actions  in  a  commendable 
manner:  "The  enemies  who  now  made  any  resist- 
ance by  firing  upon  our  brave  men  were  very  few. 
The  most  of  them  were  limited  to  the  defense  of 
their  heads  with  their  rifles  from  the  blows  of  the 
swords  and  axes.  Others  hid  as  patiidges  among 
the  bushes  and  ditches.  The  blows  of  the  swords, 
which  sounded  as  the  hammer  on  the  anvil,  were 
only  interrupted  by  the  cries  of  the  dying  and  the 
curses  of  hatred  by  our  men.  When  they  heard 
the  phrases  of  'Pardon,  Chilenito,do  not  kill, 'they 
answered  indignantly,  'There  is  no  pardon  for 
cowards    who  take  mines.'     A    Peravian    captain 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  223 

threw  up  his  arms  and  begged  for  life,  but  a  sol- 
dier, saying,  'You  discharge  mines,  do  you?'  split 
his  head  to  the  very  shoulders  with  an  ax.  Difier- 
ent  pastures  were  visited,  and  the  horses  seem  to 
have  been  as  much  exalted  by  this  destruction  of 
the  enemy  as  were  the  men  who  rode  them. 
Everywhere  the  cowardly  Peruvians  begged  for 
mercy,  but  our  men  showed  them  none,  and 
when  the  work  ceased  not  one  of  them  was  left 
alive." 

But  the  battle  still  raged  in  the  town  below. 
Chorillos  was  a  summer  resort  for  the  wealthy  fam- 
ilies of  Lima,  and,  though  the  streets  were  narrow, 
the  houses  were  elegantly  and  strongly  constructed. 
When  Dictator  Pierola  saw  that  the  battle  was 
raging  high  and  furiously,  he  took  sliipping  for 
Miraflores,  a  fort  near  by,  seeking  reinforcements. 
Scarcely  had  he  left  when  the  Chilian  infantry  en- 
tered the  town.  But  the  battle  was  by  no  means 
ended.  The  Peruvian  soldiers  fled  to  the  strong 
brick  and  adobe  houses,  each  one  of  which  was  at 
once  turned  into  a  fort.  The  resistance  was  ter- 
rible. The  Chilian  soldiers  had  to  charge  these 
Jiouses  one  at  a  time,  for  the  Peruvians  were  de- 
termined to  resist  unto  death.  Automatic  pumps 
were  so  constructed  that  when  the  victorious, 
weary  and  thirsty  Chilians  touched  them  they  ex- 
ploded, filling  the   streets  with  dead   and   dying. 


224  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

Thus  enraged,  they  forced  the  doors  one  by   one 

and  set  fire  to  the  houses.  The  Peruvians  perished 
in  the  flames.  Those  seeking  to  escape  were  at 
once  dispatched,  and  it  is  related  that  fleeing  wo- 
men and  gu'ls  were  killed  and  cut  in  pieces;  none 
were  left  to  tell  the  tale. 

Less  than  foiu'  miles  from  these  scenes  of  car- 
nage was  stationed  Peru's  gi'eat  reserve  army.  But 
so  well  fortified  had  been  the  places  that  it  was 
never  dreamed  that  they  could  be  taken.  The 
great  army  at  Miraflores  was  confident  that  the 
Chilians  would  be  defeated,  and  no  attempt  was 
made  to  assist  in  the  defense  of  San  Juan  and 
Chorillos.  Pierola,  it  is  true,  returned  with  an 
army  of  soldiers,  but  seeing  that  all  was  lost,  he  re- 
treated unobserved.  Chili  lost  in  the  two  engage- 
ments 797  killed  and  2,512  wounded,  among  whom 
were  many  distinguished  officers.  Peru's  loss  was 
not  less  than  ten  thousand  killed,  and  two  thou- 
sand jDiisoners,  taken  in  the  commencement  of  the 
day's  actions. 

In  the  meantime,  nearly  all  the  wealthy  inhabi- 
tants of  Lima  had  taken  flight  either  to  foreign 
lands  or  to  the  interior.  The  Peruvians  began  to 
feel  that  the  time  of  peril  had  come,  and  that  fate 
would  compel  them  to  submit  to  the  conquerors. 
A  train  of  cars,  bearing  a  white  flag,  was  sent  from 
the  capital  city  to  advise  with  General  Baquedano, 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  225 

to  ask  him  to  spare  the  property  of  foreigners,  and 
to  see  if  negotiations  could  possibly  be  made 
whereby  the  city  of  Lima  might  be  spared.  While 
Baquedano  was  willing  to  entertain  this  commis- 
sion, he  could  name  no  terms  of  a  satisfactory  na- 
ture, and  the  same  day,  December  14th,  marched 
against  Miraflores.  The  battle  commenced  in  the 
afternoon,  and  before  six  o'clock  the  Chilian  flag 
floated  over  the  forts. 

At  seven  o'clock  the  same  evening,  Pierola 
reached  Lima,  and  found  everything  in  great  con- 
fusion. Seeing  that  not  enough  discipline  could 
be  had  to  maintain  a  defense,  he  remained  but  four 
hours,  when,  accompanied  by  two  thousand  men  of 
distinction,  he  fled.  He  left  not  only  his  capital 
city  to  be  occupied  by  his  enemies  at  their  liesure, 
but  he  left  it  also  to  a  worse  fate — to  the  wiles  of 
an  infuriated  mob  of  his  own  countrymen.  The 
mayor  communicated  with  Baquedano  at  once,  and 
informed  him  that  Lima  was  in  no  condition  to 
offer  resistance,  and  asked  for  twenty-four  hours 
to  effect  the  disarming  of  all  the  Peruvian  soldiers. 
This  was  granted.  But  the  soldiers,  cursing  their 
leaders  for  cowardice,  determined  to  enrich  them- 
selves by  raiding  the  town.  Great  was  the  de- 
struction. Men,  women  and  children  ran  through 
the  streets  shouting,  "Viva  Peru,"  and  at  the 
same  time  breaking  in  the  doors    of    storehouses. 


226  OIVlIilZATION   IN   CHILI. 

and  killing  the  proprietors.  Similar  scenes  were 
enacted  at  Callao.  The  Peruvian  vessels  in  the 
port  were  fired.  All  night  and  all  day  the  carnage 
raged,  until  Baquedano  took  charge  of  the  city. 
Four  hundred  armed  soldiers  marched  through  the 
streets  in  the  midst  of  profound  silence.  One  of 
the  first  measures  was  to  restore  order,  and  to  as- 
sure the  terrified  people  that  their  lives  and  prop- 
erty would  remain  safe.  The  great  army  organ- 
ized for  the  defense  of  Lima  was  disbanded,  and 
not  one  hundred  anned  men  could  be  found  in  all 
the  surroundings — the  most  of  them  having  re- 
turned to  their  different  homes  and  avocations. 

The  war  was  practically  at  an  end.  The  small 
had  conquered  the  great,  and  the  world,  though 
witnessing  inhumanities  on  both  sides  such  as 
would  make  older  and  better  civilized  nations 
blush,  also  witnessed  the  triumph  of  devotion  and 
patriotism  over  misrule  and  selfishness.  Better, 
undoubtedly,  a  thousand-fold  better  would  it  have 
been  for  both  Peru  and  Bolivia  had  the  industri- 
ous Chilians  conquered  and  controlled  their  entire 
territor}-;  but  this  they  were  unable  to  do.  The 
mighty  Cordilleras,  with  their  intervening  wastes 
of  hot  and  glaring  sands,  were  more  formidable 
than  any  bulwarks  human  ingenuity  could  con- 
struct. Behind  these,  in  the  great  interior  of 
PerUj  the  conquerors,  fe-w  in  ^^mbers  and  limited 


PAST   AND    PRESENT.  227 

in  means,  could  not  penetrate;  they  had  simply 
gained  the  ports  and  coast  towns,  and  the  great 
body  of  the  enemy's  country  had  neither  been  en- 
tered or  seen.  It  was  still  within  the  bounds  of 
possibilities  for  a  modern  Farnese,  a  Bonaparte,  a 
Washington,  or  a  Grant,  or  anyone  with  a  grain 
of  their  military  spirit  and  enterprise,  to  organize 
and  equip  behind  those  mountains  a  powerful 
army,  surprise  the  enemy  by  rapid  marches,  and 
drive  them  from  the  country.  But,  alas,  for  poor 
Peru!  Distrust  and  misrule  had  sown  well  their 
seeds,  and  the  only  attempts  at  organization  were 
not  in  defense  of  the  country,  but  for  its  farther 
ruin.  Anarchy  reigned  in  triumph.  Armed  bands 
of  guerillas  devastated  the  country  and  robbed  and 
murdered  the  people.  For  two  long  years  Chili 
stood  ready  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  peace,  but 
there  was  no  one  with  whom  to  arrange  the  terms 
of  a  compact. 

Finally,  however,  in  1883,  General  Iglesias  as- 
sumed dictatorial  powers,  and  as  President  of  the  na- 
tion, entered  into  relations  with  Chili  by  which 
peace  was  restored.  The  rich  territory  of  Tarra- 
paca  was  ceded  to  the  latter  country  for  a  period 
of  ten  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  its  future 
ownership  is  to  be  decided  by  a  popular  vote  of 
the  inhabitants.  Chili  also  received  a  war  indem- 
nity of  twenty  million  dollars. 


228  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

When  the  Bolivians,  fox-like,  left  the  confused 
and  disorderly  Peruvians,  and  retired  to  their  den 
across  the  lofty  Andes,  they  had  no  notion  of 
again  coming  forth  as  wan-iors.  Their  appetite 
for  war  was  not  at  all  whetted,  unless  it  was  for 
the  achievement  of  great  military  results  by  pub- 
lishing edicts,  and  making  solemn,  high-sounding- 
vows.  They  had  not  only  lost  all  their  territoiy  in 
Atacama,  the  great  bone  of  contention,  but  with  it 
every  seaport  and  every  foot  of  coast  upon  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean;  and  it  had  all  fallen,  too,  without  a 
solitary  manly  effort  to  save  it,  or  to  regain  it  after 
it  was  lost.  In  1884  a  truce  was  signed,  by  which 
it  was  agreed  that  there  should  be  no  more  hostil- 
ities for  a  term  of  years,  and  the  Chilian  soldiers 
were  sent  home  and  disbanded. 


CHAPTER     XVII. 

A  Choice — Modes  of  Conveyance— Wicked  Coach-drivers — Dis- 
honesty--No  Faith  in  Romanism — A  View  of  the  Houses — 
Water  Barrels  and  Donkeys — Fruit  Venders — A  Native 
Saw-mill — The  Market — Meat  by  the  Yard — God  Spanish — 
Purchasing  a  Cow — A  Chilian  Fune/al — A  Eide  to  the 
Cemetery — Native  Trees  —  Washing  Clothes  —  Drunken 
Men— Easy-going  People— At  the  Farm. 

^OU  can  take  your  choice. 

We  are  going  to  ride  into  the  country,  to 
see  a  Chilian  farm.  We  could  walk,  but  the 
distance  is  too  great;  besides,  in  that  event,  our 
rank  in  life  would  be  put  to  a  severe  test  and  we 
might  lose  our  standing.  The  little  boys  would 
laugh  at  us,  too;  and  all  the  little  girls  we  would 
meet  from  the  age  of  five  to  twenty  years  would 
shrug  their  shoulders, as  much  as  to  say:  "They are 
nothing  but  ignorant  foreigners,  otherwise  they 
would  ride  in  a  carriage." 

?o,  I  eay,  you  can  have  your  choice.  We  can  go 
in  a  carriage  having  fine  glass  doors  and  cushioned 
seats,  if  you  so  desire.  In  that  case  we  will  pay 
the  driver  ten  dollars,  and  right  gallantly  will  he 
drive,  too. 

The  Chilian  horses  seem  to  be  made  of   cast  iron 


230  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

— or  what  would  be  a  better  figure,  springsteel — for 
they  certainly  have  wonderful  powers  of  endurance. 
I  have  known  one  instance  in  which  a  team  of 
these  speckled,  grisley-grey,  bare-boned  fellows 
have  traveled  one  hundred  miles  in  a  day  of  six- 
teen hours. 

If  we  choose  the  carriage,  the  driver  will,  whip 
in  hand,  make  the  horses  go  in  a  gallop  every  step 
of  the  way,  up  hill  and  down.  He  will  whip  the 
poor  animals  unmercifully  on  good  roads  as  well  as 
bad.  He  will  whip  them,  yell  at  them,  and  jerk 
them  until  oui'  hearts  ache,  and  we  will  wish  horses 
were  immortal,  so  that  in  the  day  of  judgment  they 
could  confront  him  with  his  cruelties. 

There  are  many  other  modes  of  conveyance,  and, 
if  you  prefer,  you  can  go  in  an  express  wagon,  or 
country  carriage.  Now,  the  express  wagon  is  a  very 
simple  affair,  and  not  half  so  dangerous  to  ride  in  as 
the  carriage.  It  is  true,  it  has  only  two  wheels, 
and  they  perhaps  were  made  by  sawing  off  sections 
from  the  end  of  a  log;  but  it  has  a  regular  omnibus 
car,  with  windows,  and  a  door  in  the  rear  end.  Be- 
sides, the  oxen  that  draw  it  never  get  frightened 
and  run  away;  the  "express"  is  never  crowded, 
the  seats  extend  the  full  length  of  the  car,  affording 
ample  room  for  a  comfortable  nap  when  the  scenery 
becomes  monotonous. 

If  the  express  wagon  is  not  to  your  liking,  you 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  231 

can  choose  a  goat  cart,  covered  with  brush,  and 
drawa  by  six  handsome  brown  goats;  and  right 
royally  will  they  travel,  too. 

Or  you  can  have  a  large  open  cart,  heavy  enough 
and  strong  enough  to  hold  up  ten  tons  '  weight — 
drawn  either  by  a  little  mule  or  a  frowzle-headed, 
long-eared  donkey. 

You  prefer  the  carnage.  Very  well.  We  must, 
however,  agree  with  the  driver  concerning  the 
price,  or  he  will  charge  us  double  when  we  return. 
These  fellows  are  terribly  dishonest,  and  I  never 
knew  one  but  would  take  all  the  advantage  possible 
in  any  trade.  It  is  considered  entirely  legitimate, 
and  strong  business  men,  as  a  rule,  think  nothing 
regarding  it. 

I  had  business  with  a  man  who  was  considered 
very  honorable  in  his  dealings,  and  who  stood  sec- 
ond to  none  in  social  circles  in  the  city  of  Concep- 
cion,  I  contracted  to  pay  him  one  hundred  dollars 
per  month  for  the  use  of  a  house  to  be  used  in 
connection  with  our  schools.  He  said  I  could  have 
the  house,  but  he  was  too  busy  to  make  a  written 
agreement  to  that  effect .  Next  day  he  had  gone 
abroad  and  left  the  business  with  his  son.  The 
son,  Clerk  of  the  Court,  assured  me  that  I  could 
have  the  building,  as  his  father's  instructions  were 
to  that  effect;  but  it  would  not  be  legal  for  him  to 
BJgii  Jiis  father's  name  to  an  article  of  ftgre^meiit, 


232  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

On  the  strength  of  this  assurance,  I  released  a  for- 
merly contracted  building,  waited  two  weeks  for 
this  man  of  honor  to  return,  and  then  did  not  get 
the  house.  Another  party  had  offered  a  trifle  more 
for  the  rent,  and  thus  secured  it.  When  I  re- 
minded the  senor  of  his  pledge  he  simply  shrugged 
his  shoulders,  and  told  me  I  ought  to  have  secured 
a  written  agreement.  The  secret  of  this  is  easily 
determined:  Not  one  man  in  twenty  has  any  faith 
in  the  religion  of  the  country;  and  where  there  are 
no  deep-seated  religious  principles,  one  cannot  ex- 
pect very  much  honor. 

But,  to  return  to  our  ride: 

We  enter  the  carriage  and  pass  rapidly  down 
street.  The  houses  are  all  one-story  high,  usually 
about  twenty  feet.  In  Santiago  and  Valparaiso 
they  are  higher,  and  some  are  veiy  elegant  and 
pretty;  but  in  Concepcion  they  are  made  low  on 
account  of  the  earthquakes,  which  are  numerous. 
They  are  all  made  of  large,  porous  bricks,  that  are  so 
soft  that  water  is  absorbed  by  them  as  readily  as 
by  sand;  consequently  they  are  plastered  inside 
and  out,  the  outside  being  firm  and  hard,  and  kept 
neatly  painted  by  law.  Some  are  red,  some  blue, 
some  green,  some  drab,  others  brown,  white  and 
buff— a  favorite  color  being  blue. 

They  are  all  covered  with  earthenware  tiling,  im- 
bedded in  mud,  and  thus  held  in  place  oi;  the  roof. 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  233 

This  kind  of  a  roof  is  very  homely,  and  must  be 
repaired  every  year  before  the  rainy  season  com- 
mences; but,  notwithstanding,  it  is  a  good  roo^ 
and  has  its  advantages.  It  will  not  bm'n,  and 
should  fire  originate  in  the  rafters  or  sheeting 
boards  beneath,  it  would  go  out  of  its  own  accord, 
for  after  they  have  burned  away,  the  heavy  clay  and 
mud  covering  falls  in  and  smothers  the  fire  effec" 
tually. 

That  man  following  a  half  dozen  slim-legged 
donkeys,  each  with  two  barrels  of  water  on  its  back, 
is  making  an  easy  living  selling  water  from  house 
to  house,  at  one  cent  a  bucket.  That  other  man 
with  a  large  cow-bell  on  a  small  mule,  which  is 
hitched  to  a  lumbering  cart  containing  an  immense 
barrel,  is  his  competitor  in  business. 

' ' Quieri  comprar  ciruel as !"     "What  in  the 

world  is  that  man  saying  and  doing  ?"  you  ask,  as 
you  hear  these  words  drawled  out  by  a  man  on  the 
tail  end  of  an  already  over-loaded  donkey.  He  is 
selling  fruit  from  house  to  house,  and  is  inquiring 
of  the  people  if  they  would  like  to  buy  some  plums. 
He  has  three  bushels  in  each  of  those  two  baskets, 
but  still  thinks  it  is  his  duty  to  ride.  He  cannot 
sit  on  the  donkey's  back,  for  the  fruit  occupies  all 
the  space;  he  cannot  sit  on  his  shoulders,  for  i^ 
that  case  the  donkey  would  kick  up  and  land  him 
in  the  road  over  his  head;    so  he  contents   himself 


234  cmLiZATioN  in  chili. 

by  sitting  far  back  on  the  animars    rump,  in  the 
most  uncomfortable  position  imaginable. 

We  have  now  reached  the  suburbs  of  the  city, 
and  you  can  take  a  passing  glance  at  a  Chilian  saw- 
mill. There  is  no  large  timber  in  the  vicinity  of 
Concepcion;  but  logs  are  rafted  down  the  Bio  Bio 
from  the  timber  districts  one  hundred  miles  south, 
and  are  here  manufactured  into  lumber.  They  are 
elevated  on  large  truncheons  until  a  man  can  easily 
stand  beneath,  when  the  log  is  ripped  into  lumber 
by  a  man  standing  on  top  and  one  on  the  gi-ound 
below,  working  a  large  saw  up  and  down  by  hand 
power.  A  few  steam  and  water  power  saw-mills 
are  being  introduced,  but  a  large  part  of  the  lum- 
ber is  manufactured  the  "other  way." 

With  your  permission,  we  will  signal  the  driver 
to  stop,  and  we  will  visit  the  market.  It  occupies 
an  entire  block  or  square,  and  has  been  well  fitted 
up  by  the  city  authorities,  so  that  it  is  worth  seeing. 
Here  country  produce  of  all  kinds  is  bought 
and  sold  without  the  aid  of  "middle  men."  The 
producers  either  bring  or  send  their  fruits  and 
vegetables,  butter  and  eggs,  their  fish,  clams,  beef, 
pigs,  etc.,  and  barter  them  to  the  best  possible  ad- 
vantage. There  is  no  regular  price  for  anything, 
so  that  you  are  as  liable  to  pay  thirty  or  forty  cents 
a  yard  for  sausage  as  you  are  to  get  it  cheaper,  but 


PAST    AND   PRE8ENT.  235 

as  a  rule  you  get  it  for  twenty  cents — it  is  always 
sold  by  the  yard. 

It  being  the  fruit  season,  the  market  is  over- 
flowing, so  that  there  is  not  room  for  all  the  ven- 
ders inside  the  building,  and  the  sidewalks  are  oc- 
cupied around  the  square  by  many  old  women  and 
girls,  displaying  their  wares  for  sale. 

We  enter  the  building.  To.  our  left  is  a  meat 
merchant  who  has  cut  his  meat  all  up  into  long 
strips  as  though  he  would  sell  it  by  the  yard  also; 
but  he  doesn't.  lie  sells  it  by  the  strip  or  chunk, 
and  guesses  at  its  weight.  The  next  is  a  clam 
stand.  The  old  woman  attending  has  taken  the 
clams  from  their  shells  and  strung  them  on  stems 
of  grass,  about  a  dozen  on  a  stem.  She  sells  them 
three  bunches  for  ten  cents.  To  our  right  are  long 
rovvs  of  fruit  merchants,  usually  women.  Cherries, 
large  and  fresh,  are  tied  on  sticks  so  closely  that 
they   resemble   miniature  ball  clubs   painted  red. 

"F rectos  ?"  we  ask,  as  we  take  up  a  stick. 

"  Un  Gentaro"  is  the  answer. 

As  one  cent  is  not  much  to  j)ay  for  a  half  pint  of 
cherries,  we  will  invest.  Here  are  great  heaps  of 
figs,  black,  shining  and  delicious,  for  sale  at  five 
cents  a  dozen.  Here  are  melons  by  the  cord;  and 
such  melons!  Thirty,  forty  and  fifty  pounders 
are  common.  Here  are  great  stacks  of  beautiful 
potatoes;   there  green  peppers  in  immense  piles. 


236  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

Here  are  live  chickens,  live  ducks  and  geese;  de- 
licious peaches,  large  and  red;  beautiful  and  tempt- 
ing apricots;  cabbages,  green  corn,  oranges  and 
lemons,  peculiar  looking  earthenware,  boots  and 
shoes,  cheap  handkerchiefs,  cheap  lace,  cheap 
wine,  immense  quantities  of  fresh  fish,  sea  crabs, 
sea-urchins,  oysters,  bread  and  butter,  vessels  filled 
with  boiled,  thickened  milk — in  fact,  in  the  line  of 
vegetables  and  other  eatables,  there  is  almost  any- 
thing one  could  desire,  and  many  things  he  would 
not  desire. 

Before  we  enter  the  carriage  again  we  will  buy  a 
cow,  that  is,  we  will  purchase  a  Chilian  water  ves- 
sel. It  is  made  of  black  earthenware,  and  is  of 
the  shape  of  a  cow  stmding  on  all  fours.  The 
water  is  put  in  at  the  top  of  the  head,  and  you 
pour  it  out  at  the  end  of  the  noSe.  "Yo  quiero 
comprar  uno  vaso,"  we  say  to  the  woman  in  the 
stall.  She  says  not  a  word.  We  wonder  why  she 
does  not  understand,  and  so  point  to  the  cow.  She 
passes  it  to  us  with  a  smile,  and  we  know  that  our 
Spanish  has  been  faulty.  O  yes,  we  have  it  now; 
vaso  means  glass  tumbler,  and  vaco  means  cow. 
We  had  told  the  woman  we  desired  to  purchase  a 
tumbler,  and  she  had  none.  We  laugh  heartily  at 
our  mistake,  in  which  we  are  joined  by  the  women 
around  us.  They  are  too  polite  to  laugh  until  they 
see  that  we  make  a  joke  of  it. 


PAST    AND   PRESEKT.  237 

The  above  mistake  is  in  keeping  with  many  more 
I  might  mention — some  not  so  bad  and  some  worse. 
The  Spanish  language  is  said  to  be  very  easy  to 
learn.  No  doubt.  I  have  talked  with  men  by  the 
half  hour,  when  they  would  be  all  attention  to  catch 
even  a  glimpse  of  my  meaning;  but  they  would 
enthusiastically  declare,  "Peyfectimenta,  Senor; 
perfectimenla!"  No  doubt  at  all;  it  was  perfect.  On 
that  basis  the  language  is  easily  learned.  I  might 
tell  about  a  certain  person  going  to  the  barber 
shop  and  asking  in  perfectly  good  Spanish  if  he 
could  get  his  cabbage  head  cut;  about  his 
going  to  a  hardware  store  and  asking  for  a  good 
sharp  flaxseed  to  trim  pencils  with.  The  same 
individual  once  called  upon  a  wealthy  lady  and 
said  to  her:  ^'Es  su  alfileres  biieno  f  He  meant  to 
ask  if  her  husband  was  well,  but  instead  he  asked 
if  her  pin-money  was  in  good  health.  There  is  not 
a  particle  of  similarity  between  the  two  words;  but 
it  answered  the  same  purpose,  for  the  good  lady, 
without  a  smile,  assured  him  that  her  husband  was 
quite  well. 

We  get  into  the  carriage  and  go  on.  The  driver 
is  out  of  patience  at  our  delay,  and  vents  his  wrath 
upon  the  horses. 

On  we  fly,  out  of  town  on  a  long,  swinging, 
galloping  trot.  We  turn  a  corner  so  quickly  that 
we  almost  upset,  and  get  a  glimpse  of  what  is  be- 


238  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

hind  us.  All  creation  seems  to  have  turned  out  in 
carriages  and  are  following  us.  On  they  come, 
pell  mell !  They  are  surely  trying  to  overtake  us ! 
No,  they  are  racing!  Not  so;  they  are  drunken 
rowdies  on  a  spree!  But  upon  looking  closer  we 
observe  that  the  front  one  is  not  a  carriage,  it  is  a 
hearse,  elegantly  plumed,  and  the  procession  turns 
out  to  be  a  first-class  Chilian  funeral. 

The  first  time  I  ever  attended  a  funeral  of  this 
kind  the  scene  was  strange  and  awful.  An  Eng- 
lish gentleman,  who  had  lived  in  Concepcion  for 
many  years,  sickened  and  died.  I  took  a  carriage, 
as  the  custom  of  the  country  required,  and  after 
appropriate  religious  services  at  the  house  of  the 
deceased,  the  procession  started  for  the  cemetery. 
From  the  very  first  every  carriage  was  in  a  trot, 
and  after  we  got  well  out  of  town,  racing  com- 
menced. The  roads  were  rough,  and  very  sandy; 
the  drivers,  however,  were  "not  afraid."  Some- 
times half  a  dozen  carriages  were  side  by  side, 
when  one  getting  a  trifle  ahead  would  veer  off  and 
partly  get  into  the  track  of  the  one  next  to  him. 
This  would  cause  number  two  to  rein  up,  and  all 
the  others  had  to  exert  themselves  to  keep  from 
smashing  headlong  into  their  neighbors.  Pres- 
ently the  roads  grew  heavy,  and  our  carriage 
fell  behind.  The  driver  whipped  and  jerked  and 
yelled  tenibly;  but  in  spite  of  his  efforts  we  came 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  239 

to  a  standstill .  Two  of  us  got  out,  and  away  went 
the  carriage,  full  gallop,  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 
"We  caught  up  and  got  in;  another  gallop;  came  to 
a  hill,  and  another  stop;  we  got  out;  a  gallop  up 
hill.  When  we  got  in  again,  the  horses  were  gal- 
loped down  hill  until  we  reached  the  graveyard, 
where  we  found  the  rest  patiently  awaiting  us. 
The  poor  man  was  hurriedly  buried  in  a  shallow 
grave.  Then  we  raced  all  the  way  back  home,  and  I 
really  felt  as  though  I  had  been  to  a  sad  and  sor- 
rowful circus.  The  custom  of  the  country  prevents 
the  relatives  from  following  their  dead  to  the 
grave.     It  is  a  merciful  custom. 

But  the  driver  has  been  vigorously  using  the 
whip.  We  have  gone  quickly  around  the  mountain 
valley,  passing  rivei's  and  groves  of  pretty  trees. 
The  latter  ai'e  mostly  a  shrub  belonging  to  the  spice 
family,  very  strongly  scented  and  beautiful;  but 
we  recognize  a  few  old  friends,  such  as  the  elm, 
Cottonwood  and  sycamore,  but  they  have  a  difier- 
ent  look  from  those  in  our  northern  homes;  the 
leaves  are  smaller,  the  bark  smoother  and  the  wood 
more  compact.  There  is  something  singular  about 
the  trees  in  this  country.  The  common  currant  bush 
is  here  an  evergreen;  the  sycamore  is  manufactured 
into  beautiful  parlor  furniture,  equal  in  beauty  to 
black  walnut.  The  rain  and  sunshine  of  the  winter 
months  keep  the   grasses  and  flowers  growing  and 


240  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

blooming  all  the  time;  but  the  trees  tbat  shed  their 
leaves  in  Autumn  remain  intact,  with  bud  dry  and 
hard,  and  no  amount  of  coaxing  will  cause  them  to 
push  forth  until  the  full  season  of  rest  is  com- 
pleted. 

That  group  of  women  standing  knee-deep  in 
water  are  washing  clothes  in  the  ordinary  method 
of  the  country,  of  which  I  spoke  in  a  former  chap- 
ter. It  is  a  laborious  job,  for  which  they  are  poorly 
remunerated,  and  is  a  frequent  cause  of  much  sick- 
ness. The  most  patient  people  in  Chili  are  the 
poor  washei-women. 

That  man  lying  by  the  roadside  is  sleeping  off 
a  drunk;  yesterday  was  a  feast-day,  and  feast-days 
always  mean  drunkenness.  In  the  city  we  see  but 
little  effects  of  it,  for  the  police  punish  drunken 
men  severely;  but  here  in  the  country  they  are 
not  molested.  In  the  United  States  men  grow  rich 
adulterating  wines  with  dried  cocki-oaches,  bed- 
bugs, logwoods,  etc.;  but  here  in  Chili  the  in- 
gredients for  adulteration  would  cost  more  than 
the  wine,  A  hogshead  of  sixty- three  gallons  can 
be  purchased  for  from  five  to  nine  dollars,  accord- 
ing to  the  age  of  the  liquor.  Consequently  we  do 
not  see  such  bad  results  from  drunkenness  as  we 
see  at  home. 

Do  not  judge  that,  because  the  miserable  driver 
is  taking  us  along  so   rapidly,  it  is  a  characteristic 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  241 

of  the  Chilians  to  hurry;  that  would  be  a  bad 
mistake.  No  Chilian  ever  hurries  except  the 
coachman,  and  he  only  because  of  his  mania  for 
beating  dumb  animals. 

The  average  Chilians  are  the  easiest  going  people 
in  the  world.  If  you  have  an  engagement  with  a 
man  at  ten,  he  will  think  it  near  enough  if  he  meet 
you  at  eleven.  If  the  business  is  not  urgent,  he 
may  put  it  off  till  two,  or  perhaps  the  next  day, 
or  forever.  I  had  business  transactions,  as  agent, 
with  a  banker,  involving  property  worth  $20,000. 
We  appointed  next  morning  at  ten  as  a  time  for 
meeting  at  his  bank;  but  at  that  hour  the  bank 
had  not  been  opened.  I  waited  till  eleven,  went 
home,  and  returned  at  one.  The  banker  had  just 
come  in  and  was  ready  to  talk  business.  It  is  not 
a  usual  thing  for  ladies  of  fortune  to  spend  much 
time  in  a  store  "jewing"  down  the  price  of  a  piece 
perhaps  of  lace  worth  fifty  cents  a  yard.  They  do 
it  because  they  love  to  talk  and  have  much  lei- 
sure. 

But  we  will  stop  the  carriage,  get  out  at  the 
farm,  and  tell  about  it  in  another  chapter. 


CHAPTKR    XVIII. 

Model  Farm — Fences  Ten  Feet  High — The  Sick  Overseer — 
The  Parlor — A  Chilian  Dinner — The  Landlord  and  the 
Spirit- Witches  —  A  Haunted  Lake — The  Workingman's 
Meal — Keeping  Accounts — Loading  Grain  in  the  Bundle — 
Threshing  Wheat — Large  Vineyards — Cheap  Wines — Cheap 
Donkeys — Milking  the  Cows — Evening  Sports — Dancing 
the  Culca — Sleeping-Rooms  for  the  Poor — Selling  to  the 
Devil — Implements — A  Talk  with  a  Doctor — Statistics  of 
Agriculture. 

^|HIS  farm  belongs  to  our  friend  Juan  Santia- 
go Latinero.  The  English  of  it  would  be 
John  James  Tinker;  but  it  sounds  better  in 
Spanish.  In  coming  here  we  have  passed  many 
smaller  farms;  but  as  Senor  Latinero  is  a  represen- 
tative man,  who  owns  one  of  the  average  large 
farms  of  the  country,  we  prefer  to  visit  his  rather 
than  a  small  one.  He  owns  five  hundred  acres,  all 
under  one  fence. 

We  will  examine  the  fence.  Barbed  wire*  has 
never  been  patented  here;  if  it  should  be,  the  pat- 
entee would  not  make  a  fortune  from  it.  Eails 
are  never  used   excepting   in     the   south.     Stone 

*The  Gofernmeat  of  Chili  is  feucing  its  railroads  with  barbed  wire 
imported  from  the  United  States. 


Wim^/iiMMi 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  243 

fences  are  sometimes  made,  but  always  solid,  with 
lime  and  sand.  I  never  saw  a  board  fence  in 
Chili  outside  the  city  of  Concepcion,  where  there 
is  an  occasional  lot  weather-boarded  in  like  the 
side  of  a  house.  But  still  there  are  fences — fences 
that  would  defy  a  kangaroo  or  a  Colorado  steer. 
The  one  around  Senor  Latinero's  farm  is  ten  feet 
high,  three  feet  wide,  and  has  a  roof  on  it  all  the 
way  around.  It  is  made  of  mud.  Large  quantities 
are  moulded  into  squares,  dried  in  the  sun,  built 
into  a  wall,  and  covered  with  earthenware  tiling. 
It  looks  sti'ong  enough  to  last  forever. 

We  pass  through  a  large,  swinging  gate  up  to 
the  house.  The  senor  is  not  here;  he  lives  in  the 
city,  and  perhaps  does  not  visit  his  farm  oftener 
than  once  a  month.  The  overseer,  however,  sends 
out  servants  to  conduct  us  into  the  house,  where 
we  find  that  gentleman  sick  in  bed,  and  are  ushered 
into  the  parlor  to  be  entertained  by  his  wife. 

The  parlor  is  carpeted  with  fine  Brussels;  heavy, 
gilt-framed  paintings,  expensive  and  beautiful,  are 
on  the  walls;  rich  lace  curtains  of  great  length  are 
at  the  doors  and  windows;  heavy  mahogany  chairs, 
center  table,  corner  stands,  armchairs,  and  two 
sofas  form  the  rest  of  the  furniture. 

We  are  soon  invited  to  dinner,  and  accept  the 
invitation.  Our  meal  consists,  first,  of  soup;  then 
roast  meats;  a  dish   of  meats,  onions   and   bread, 


244  OIVILrZATION  IN  CHILI. 

highly  seasoned  and  called  jihote  (pronounced 
he-goaty);  a  dish  of  rice  and  sausage  cooked  to- 
gether; bread,  butter  and  fruit;  a  pudding  made  of 
new  Indian  meal  and  sugar  boiled  in  corn-husks; 
and  lastly,  tea  and  cake. 

After  dinner  we  turn  our  attention  to  the  over- 
seer and  inqiiii'e  the  cause  of  his  sickness.  He  is 
an  ignorant  man,  very  superstitious,  and  for  some 
reason  hesitates  to  tell  us.  His  wife,  after  many 
assurances  and  indications  of  sympathy  from  us, 
comes  to  the  rescue,  and  informs  us  that  the  ghosts 
have  been  after  him.  He  was  returning  from  town 
on  horseback  the  previous  evening,  when  all  at 
once  he  was  aware  of  something  sitting  in  the  sad- 
dle behind  him.  He  did  not  dare  to  look  back  for 
a  long  time,  but  felt  the  presence  of  some  dreaded 
personage  holding  him  as  by  a  spell  of  evil,  as 
though  he  were  frozen  to  the  spot.  His  limbs 
seemed  loosened  from  their  sockets,  and  his  tongue 
was  dumb  and  useless.  How  long  he  remained 
under  the  power  of  this  dread  controller  he  was  un- 
able to  tell;  but  it  must  have  been  a  considerable 
time,  for  he  remembered  the  horse  was  walking 
slowly  without  being  guided,  and  that  he  had 
forded  the  brook  and  passed  by  the  sandhills.  But 
at  length  he  thought  of  his  good  patron ,  Saint  Se- 
bastian, and  prayed  him  to  come  as  his  deliverer.  As 
soon  as  he  had  done  this,  and  vowed  to  pay  the 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  245 

saint  a  sum  of  money  and  to  give  many  candles  to 
burn  on  saint's  day,  lie  had  courage  and  power  to 
look  around.  Sitting  behind  him  he  recognized 
the  departed  spirit  of  a  man  with  whom  he  had 
quarreled,  and  who  had  died  without  being  recon- 
ciled. He  had  come  back  to  torment  him  till  he 
confessed  his  wrong;  and  as  he  was  sure  that  it 
was  the  will  of  his  saint,  he  promised  to  confess , 
and  the  spirit  departed. 

The  middle  and  lower  classes  ai'e  very  supersti- 
tious. Many  of  them  believe  that  the  witches  have 
power  to  change  a  man  into  any  kind  of  an  ani- 
mal or  hideous  hobgoblin.  If  you  give  a  stranger 
some  fruit  he  will  gladly  accept  it,  but  will  not  eat 
of  it  for  five  days;  if  at  the  end  of  that  time  it  is 
not  eaten  by  worms,  there  is  no  danger  of  its  hav- 
ing been  bewitched,  and  can  safely  be  eaten  by 
man. 

Near  Concepcion  is  a  small  lake,  covering  an  acre 
or  more  of  ground,  which,  as  the  story  goes,  the 
owner  once  attempted  to  draia.  It  proved  to  be 
very  deep  and  to  requu-e  much  work;  and  while 
the  workmen  were  digging  deep  in  the  ground, 
they  came  across  the  tnink  of  a  large  tree  which, 
upon  being  cut  with  some  of  the  tools,  issued  great 
quantities  of  blood.  The  work  was  at  once  aban- 
doned. But  the  sti'angest  thing  about  it  is,  that 
since  that  time  spiiits  have  always  visited  the  lake 


246  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

at  nights,  and  sailed  upon  it  in  steamboats  brought 
with  them  for  that  purpose.  This  stoiy  is  told  and 
believed  by  all  the  lower  classes  in  the  city  and 
surrounding  country. 

As  we  came  out  on  a  tour  of  inspection,  we  ask 
permission  to  see  what  the  laborers  have  to  eat. 
The  request  is  granted,  and  we  pass  into  a  room 
in  the  rear  part  of  the  building,  where  twelve  stout, 
healthy  looking  men  are  seated  around  a  rough, 
board  table  with  no  cloth.  The  meal  consists 
wholly  of  beans  and  peas.  Twice  a  week  they  re- 
ceive meat  and  potatoes.  Every  farm  house  has  a 
small  mill  for  grinding  gi'ain,  that  two  men  could 
easily  carry;  upon  this  mill  wheat  that  has  been 
previously  roasted  is  ground  into  flour.  The 
workmen,  after  receiving  a  cold  lunch  in  the  morn- 
ing, get  a  measure  of  this  meal,  which  they  carry 
with  them  for  dinner  or  lunch;  this  and  the  horn 
of  water  is  all  they  receive  until  they  return  at  six 
in  the  morning. 

The  overseer,  being  a  man  of  "letters,"  writes 
each  laborer's  name  in  some  convenient  place, 
and  when  his  day's  work  is  done  gives  him  a  mark. 
At  the  end  of  the  week  he  receives  his  pay,  but,  as 
a  rule,  pai'ts  with  it  the  following  day,  as  the  Sab- 
bath is  generally  spent  in  drinking  and  gambling. 
We  pass  out  with  the  laborers.  Some  of  them  have 
been  hauling  bundles  of  wheat  for  others  to  thresh, 


PAST    AND    PRISBNT.  247 

and  some  have  had  exclusive  care  of  the  vineyard. 
The  day  is  not  finished  until  the  sun  is  well  down. 
So  we  accompany  those  to  their  labor  who  have 
been  drawing  wheat.  All  work  requiring  heavy 
draft  is  done  by  cattle,  a  yoke  of  which,  in  this  in- 
stance, is  fastened  to  a  lumbeiing  cart  containing  a 
hay  rack,  narrow  and  high,  made  of  cane  poles. 
The  cart  being  driven  to  a  convenient  place  where 
the  bundles  are  thick,  the  cattle  taken  from  the 
tongue  and  secured  to  a  wheel,  the  labor  of  gath- 
ering commences.  Each  man  seizes  a  bundle  and 
carries  it  to  the  cart;  he  is  not  in  a  huiTy ,  but 
takes  time  to  laugh  and  chat  with  his  neighbor, 
and  even  to  give  him  a  push  forward  on  his  face 
when  he  finds  him  in  the  act  of  stooping  fiar  a  bun- 
dle. The  work  goes  on  slowly;  the  fun  is  more 
lively.  Presently  the  bundles  near  the  cart  are  all 
gathered,  but  it  never  occurs  to  them  to  move  the 
cart;  no,  the  bundles  are  still  carried,  the  distance 
gradually  increasing  until  the  load  is  complete. 

The  wheat  is  hauled  to  threshing  yards,  where 
it  is  thrown  into  convenient  heaps,  without  the 
necessity  or  trouble  of  putting  it  into  stacks;  as  it 
rarely  ever  rains  here  during  the  summer  mouths, 
there  is  but  little  danger  of  it  spoiling,  no  matter 
how  carelessly  thrown  together. 

The  threshing  is  going  on  slowly  and  surelj'.  A 
large  spot   of    earth   has   been  previously   swept 


248  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

clean,  and  upon  this  the  bundles  are  thrown  and 
tread  upon  by  a  large  number  of  horses  marching, 
or  rather  running,  around  and  around  until  the 
wheat  is  shelled  from  the  straw;  the  straw  is  then 
removed,  the  wheat  raked  to  the  center  of  the 
floor,  and  more  bundles  thrown  down  to  be  tread 
upon.  When  the  floor  gets  full  of  wheat  and 
chafi",  the  threshing  is  stopped  and  the  windmill  is 
introduced.  No  wheat  could  be  of  better  quality: 
the  grains  are  fully  one  fifth  of  an  inch  in  length, 
and  are  plump  and  round. 

We  pass  by  the  vineyard,  which  contains  more 
than  one  hundred  acres.  The  vines  are  in  hills 
about  six  feet  apart,  each  hill  supported  by  a 
stake,  and  the  entire  vineyard  is  remarkably  free 
from  weeds.  They  are  not  plowed,  but  hoed. 
The  hoes  used  are  about  fourteen  inches  high,  five 
broad,  and  each  weighs  about  eight  pounds.  Every 
well  regulated  farm  has  its  vineyard,  many  of 
which  are  very  large;  the  grapes  are  excellent,  and 
the  crop  is  nearly  always  abundant.  They  make 
an  excellent  quality  of  raisins  as  well  as  of  wine. 
They  sell  cheaply  on  the  market,  and  in  their  sea- 
son can  be  purchased  for  about  one  cent  a  pound. 
Good  wine  can  be  procured  at  from  five  to  ten 
cents  a  quart.  Every  Chilian,  old  and  young, 
drinks  wine  at  all  times  in  the  day,  but  more  es- 
pecially at  meal-time.     Apparently,  they  are  rarely 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  249 

intoxicated;  especially  the  better  classes,  who  do 
not  drink  to  excess.  Cheap  liquor,  however,  is 
bad  for  Americans  and  Englishmen.  A  large  per 
cent,  of  them  coming  to  this  country,  instead  of 
making  fortunes,  a  thing  easily  done,  become  ob- 
jects of  contempt  and  often  of  charity. 

We  pass  from  the  vineyards  to  the  cattle-yard. 
It  is  milking-time,  and  over  two  hundred  head  of 
cattle  are  in  the  coiTal.  Cattle-raising  is  profita- 
ble. A  cow,  comparing  favorably  in  size  and  ap- 
pearance with  our  Colorado  or  Texas  cattle  at 
home,  will  sell  for  about  forty  dollars;  a  steer  sells 
for  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  dollars,  which  is  a  high 
price,  considering  that  there  is  plenty  of  grass  the 
entire  year.  Donkeys  are  very  cheap,  and  are  the 
most  despised  and  worst  abused  animals  in  the 
land.  A  good-sized  donkey  will  sell  on  the  market 
in  Concepcion  for  about  three  dollars  and  a  half, 
with  a  small  one  thrown  in  for  a  "yapa" — meaning 
a  gift  They  are  whipjDed  and  hammered  unmerci- 
fully, and  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  them 
with  ears  cut  off,  or  minus  both  ears  and  tail .  The 
most  abject,  degraded-looking  animal  1  ever  saw 
was  a  big-headed,  thick-legged  donkey  with  both 
ears  cut  oft"  close  to  the  head,  and  his  tail  cut  close 
to  his  backbone.  This  poor,  degraded  fellow 
makes  the  rounds  every  day,  in  Concepcion, 
carrying  on  his  back  at  least  thirty  gallons  of  wa- 


250  CIVILIZATION   IN   OHIU. 

ter.  He  is  the  most  patient  animal  I  ever  saw, 
wearing  neither  halter  nor  bridle,  but  being 
guided  by  his  owner  following  him  with  a  huge 
whip,  and  telling  him  when  to  go,  when  to  stop, 
and  when  and  where  to  turn.  He  always  obeys, 
and  serves  his  master  as  though  he  thought  him  a 
god,  with  patience  enough  to  drive  a  Christian  to 
shame  in  his  half-hearted  service  given  the  Deity. 

Let  us  return  to  the  cow-yard,  where  the  women 
are  out,  in  full  force,  milking.  They  take  no 
chances  whatever.  Each  cow,  in  turn,  has  her 
hind  legs  firmly  tied  to  stakes  made  fast  in  the 
ground  before  the  milking  commences.  They  milk 
from  either  side;  and  these  dark-skinned,  black- 
eyed  women  handle  cattle  as  skillfully  as  do  the 
men.  The  milk  is  carefully  cared  for  and  manu- 
factured into  butter  and  cheese,  of  which  they 
make  an  excellent  quality.  The  whole  coast  of 
northern  Chili,  Bolivia,  and  Peru  depends  largely 
on  this  section  for  supplies;  as  a  consequence, 
these  commodities  are  always  in  demand  and  bring 
good  prices  in  the  markets. 

After  the  milking  the  men  and  women  gather  in 
the  open  court  of  the  house  and  spead  an  hour  in 
singing  and  dancing.  Only  two  dance  at  a  time. 
A  young  girl  selects  a  young  man  to  assist  her, 
and  they  both  step  out  into  the  middle  of  the  patio. 
They  do  not  clasp  hands  or  tpucli  §acli  other  ia, 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  251 

any  manner;  but  as  she  sings  they  each  flirt  a 
handkerchief  and  turn  slowly  and  gracefully,  keep- 
ing time  with  the  music.  In  this  instance  the 
singing  is  accompanied  by  a  banjo,  and  its  dead 
thumpings  and  the  doleful  singing  reminds  one  of 
Edward  Eggleston's  Baptist  preacher  swaying  his 
body  and  singing  in  nasal  tone,  "Come  buck-ah! 
Come  buck-ah !"  Nothing  could  be  more  doleful 
and  plaintive  than  these  songs  and  the  music  ac- 
companying them.  Here  is  a  song  just  as  Senorita 
Rose  Vasareo  sang  it,  as  she  danced  with  the 
young  i-ustic  of  her  choice.  While  she  sang  they 
both  danced  and  kept  the  handkerchief  whirling 
around  and  around,  continually. 

Disen  que  no  me  quirer, 
Porque  no  tengo; 
La  Mavis  afilida, 

Y  log  ojos  nigros. 

Para  que  me  pareguantes 
Que  vida  paso, 
Que  vida  pasare 
Quenendo  un  huaso  ? 

Gauntos  tormentOB 
Sufro  per  ti; 

Y  siendo  asi 
Me  pagftis  mall 

Trista  a  la  tumba, 
Su  cumbire; 

Y  Harare: 

Mi  amor  fatal  I 


252  CIVILIZATION  IN   OHILI. 

A  somewhat  literal  translation  of  this  song  is  as 
follows : 

They  say  they  do  not  like  me. 
Why  I  cannot  tell, 
Except  my  nose  is  sharp, 
And  my  eyes  are  very  black. 

Why  do  you  not  ask  me 
What  kind  of  a  life  I  live  ? 
What  kind  of  a  life  I  live 
Loving  a  country-man  ? 

How  many,  many  torments 
I  suffer  now  for  you ! 
And  suffering  so  for  you 
You  pay  me  badly. 

Sadly  to  the  grave  I'll  yield, 
I  soon  will  come  and  yield; 
And  when  I'm  there,  I'll  cry: 
"0  my  fatal  love!" 

Having  spent  an  hour  with  the  singers  and 
dancers,  we  will  retire  for  the  night.  Our  room  is 
nicely  furnished,  and  we  go  to  sleep  on  a  hair 
mattress,  on  a  little  bedstead  made  of  iron,  even 
to  the  slats.  Could  we  have  followed  the  poor, 
hard-working  servants  to  their  rooms  we  would 
have  found  their  apartments  damp,  ban'en  and 
gloomy.  The  sun  never  shines  in  them,  and  the 
thick  earthen  walls  and  clay  floors  retain  their 
winter  dampness.  Rats,  lizards  and  long,  slimy 
snails  are  in  abundance.  There  is  but  little  or  no 
furniture,  and  the  workman  lies  down  to  sleep  on 


PAST  AND   PBESENT.  253 

a  coarse  wooden  bunk,  filled  with  straw.  Before 
going  to  bed  each  one  kneels  and  crosses  himself 
several  times. 

Protestants  are  not  so  much  despised  by  these 
people  as  they  are  dreaded.  They  believe  that  in 
order  to  become  a  Protestant  a  person  makes  a 
solemn  contract  to  serve  the  devil  forever;  opens  a 
vein  in  his  arm  and  signs  the  contract  with  his 
own  blood.  Whereupon  Satan  receives  the  blood- 
sealed  parchment  and  gives  the  signer  a  thousand 
dollars.  Protestant  ministers  on  this  coast  have 
received  calls  from  poor  women,  broken  and  dis- 
couraged, who  thus  came  to  sell  themselves  to  the 
devil  for  gain.  Poor  souls!  They  believe  that  the 
moment  one  receives  the  money  evil  takes  posses- 
sion of  him;  that,  though  he  may  have  power  to 
smile,  appear  happy,  give  good  gifts,  he  does  it  all 
to  deceive  people  and  lead  them  to  sin. 

We  sleep  a  sound  and  refreshing  sleej),  and  are 
up  at  dawn.  These  laborers  commence  work  at 
six  o'clock.  The  ghosts  have  given  up  their  claim 
on  the  overseer,  and  he  is  out  ready  for  business. 
Six  men  are  sent  to  cut  a  small  field  of  late  wheat. 
They  each  caiTy  a  reap-hook,  a  cow-horn  of  water 
and  a  small  bag  of  meal.  It  will  be  twelve  hours 
before  they  get  anything  else  to  eat. 

The  overseer,  at  our  request,  shows  us  the  farm 
implements.    The  plows  are  very  rude  afi'airs,  con- 


254  OIVILIZATIOK   IN   CHILI. 

sisting  of  a  beam  with  one  long,  stout  handle  ex- 
tending far  enough  downward  to  attach  a  piece  of 
flat  iron  that  has  been  hammered  sharp  on  a  stone. 
With  this  tbey  can  but  little  more  than  scratch  the 
ground.  Wheat  is  sown  broadcast,  and  covered  by- 
dragging  over  it  a  weighted  plank.  Corn  land  is 
furrowed  into  rows  in  one  direction;  in  these,  at 
regular  intervals,  holes  are  made  with  sharpened 
sticks,  into  which  the  corn  is  dropped,  and  then 
covered  with  the  foot. 

We  learn  that  wheat  yields  on  an  average  about 
twenty  bushels  to  the  acre;  but  the  yield  of  corn 
is  small,  as  the  seasons  are  always  too  cold.  How- 
ever, oranges,  lemons,  figs,  peaches,  apples,  pears, 
grapes,  etc.,  are  always  a  sure  crop.  This  can 
readily  be  understood  when  it  is  known  that  in 
winter  there  is  never  frost  enough  to  kill  the 
flowers,  and  in  summer  it  is  never  warm  enough  to 
require  thin  clothing,  in  the  south.  Cabbages, 
turnips,  potatoes,  carrots  and  beets  grow  in  abun- 
dance. When  a  native  plants  beets,  he  ties  a  knot 
in  the  small  end  of  each  growing  plantlet  to  keep 
it  from  growing  long. 

Our  carriage  has  returned,  by  agreement,  to 
carry  us  backto  town;  so  we  say  ''Adios" — "adieu," 
literally,  "to  God" — to  our  friends  at  the  farm  and 
return. 

And  nov7,  if  you  will  go  with  me,  I  will  intro- 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  255 

duce   you  to  my  friend,  Dr.  Enrique  H.  B ,  an 

Irish  gentleman  who  has  resided  in  Chili  for  over 
twenty-five  years.  He  has  amassed  a  large  fortune 
here,  and  as  he  owns  man}'  fai'ms  in  this  Province, 
we  will  be  glad  to  meet  him.  After  the  introduc- 
tions we  proceed  to  interrogate  the  Doctor,  as  fol- 
lows: 

"What  is  the  average  per  cent,  of  deaths  that 
occur  in  this  country,  compared  to  the  whole  pop- 
ulation, Doctor?" 

"I  do  not  know,  indeed;  but  I  can  tell  you  that 
about  eighty  per  cent,  of  all  the  children  born 
here  die  in  infancy." 

"Why,  Doctor,  you  verj'  much  surprise  me!  It 
cannot  possibly  be  so  great!" 

"It  may  be  overrated  a  very  little,  sir;  but  not 
much — a  very  trifle,  if  any  at  all.  Why,  just  think 
of  it!  Years  and  years  ago  Chili  had  two  million 
of  people,  and  she  has  only  that  number  to-day. 
They  never  move  away ;  but  few  were  killed  during 
the  war — that  is,  comparatively  few;  and  besides, 
this  is  a  healthful  climate.  But  these  poor  people 
live  like  hogs,  and  they  don't  know  so  well  how  to 
care  for  their  young.  They  do  not  properly  clothe 
them,  and  when  the  cold  rains  come  they  permit 
them  to  crawl  around  in  the  wet,  which  soon  puts 
an  end  to  them.  It's  a  terrible  shame,  sir;  but  it's 
ft  fact !" 


256  CIVILIZATION  IN   CHlLI. 

"Doctor,  I  understand  that  you  own  a  great  deal 
of  farm  land  in  this  vicinity.  May  I  ask  if  farming 
is  a  profitable  business  ?" 

"Yes,  sir,  it  pays  very  well.  Labor  is  very  cheap, 
and  crops  are  always  sure.  It  costs  about  one  dol- 
lar to  raise  three  bushels  of  wheat,  and  it  usually 
sells  at  about  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  a  bushel. 
Wheat  and  barley,  though,  are  the  only  crops  we 
can  raise  profitably;  there  is  no  foreign  demand  for 
anything  else.  Oats  will  yield  sixty  bushels  to  the 
acre,  easy  enough,  one  year  after  the  other;  but  we 
can  never  sell  them." 

"How  much  grain  do  you  usually  grow  in  a 
year?" 

"Not  much;  I  only  sowed  three  thousand  bush- 
els this  year,  as  I  have  grown  tired  of  grain,  and 
have  commenced  raising  cattle." 

•'Do  you  have  all  your  large  harvests  gathered 
with  reap  hooks,  Doctor?" 

"Reap  hooks!  Law,  bless  you,  no!  I  own 
twenty-five  of  the  latest  improved  reaping  ma- 
chines, right  from  the  States,  and  two  good  thresh- 
ing machines.  The  reapers  cost  me  $450  each,  and 
the  threshers  cost  me  $3,200  each." 

"What  makes  them  so  expensive  ?" 

"The  duty,  freight  and  exchange.  You  see,  we 
have  no  direct  line  of  communication  with  the 
United  States.     We  have  a  line  of  English  steam- 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  257 

ers,  one  of  French,  one  to  Germany,  one  to  Italy, 
and  another  to  China  and  Australia;  but  we  have 
none  with  the  Yankees,  and  we  care  most  for  their 
goods.  I  have  ordered  goods  from  New  York  that 
would  first  go  to  Liverpool,  and  then  to  Hamburg, 
Germany,  before  they  would  reach  here." 

"Are  the  farmers  here  ready,  as  a  usual  thing,  to 
introduce  improved  farm  implements  to  take  the 
place  of  their  reap  hooks  and  wooden  plows  ?' ' 

"Yes,  if  they  were  not  so  expensive,  and  we 
could  get  them  here  by  a  direct  line  of  steamers. 
You  see,  there  is  nothing  manufactured  here  at  all, 
and  such  things  ordered  from  the  States  are  six 
months  in  transit.  That  makes  matters  bad;  for 
were  the  people  to  introduce  machinery,  when  any- 
thing would  get  out  of  repairs  it  would  require 
six  months  to  mend  it.  If  we  had  a  direct  line 
of  steamers,  I  thiuk  the  American  farm  wagon  could 
be  introduced  without  trouble." 

"Would  it  not  be  better  to  have  them  manufac- 
tured here,  Doctor  ?" 

"Well,  yes;  but  all  the  timber  would  have  to  be 
shipped  from  abroad.  The  timber  here,  though 
beautiful  for  furniture,  is  not  fit  for  wagons;  it's 
too  brittle  and  porous,  and  swells  terribly  in  wet 
weather.  You  must  know  that  these  huge  carts 
are  a  necessity  in  this  country.  If  they  were  made 
smaller  they  would  twist  all  out  of  shape   in  wet 


258  CIVILIZATION    IN    OHILI. 

weather,  and  the  wood  is  so  brittle  that  they  would 
be  broken  unless  made  very  large." 

"Are  taxes  exorbitant  here?" 

"No,  sir;  I  would  gladly  pay  double  theamount  to 
be  as  sure  of  life  and  property  as  I  would  be  in  the 
States.  You  see,  rich  men  here  living  in  the  coun- 
try are  considered  common  prey  for  every  man 
inclined  to  steal.  They  are  not  under  the  eyes  of 
the  police,  and  cattle-stealing,  horse-stealing'  and 
robberies  of  every  description  are  very  common. 
Life  even  is  not  safe  for  a  man  of  means  in  the 
counti-y;  hence  the  rich  farmers  nearly  all  live  in 
the  city.  There  are  some,  however,  who  are  rich 
and  still  live  in  the  country;  but  they  have  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  veiy  poor,  or  have  gained  the 
good  will  of  their  neighbors.  They  do  this  to  ]Dro- 
tect  themselves  and  to  keep  from  being  mur- 
dered." 

"What  are  some  of  the  hindrances  to  farming 
other  than  the  thieves  ?" 

"Not  anything,  excepting  a  rotation  of  crops.  You 
see,  wheat  is  the  main  thing,  and  so  much  of  it  is 
raised  that  the  same  land  is  necessarily  seeded 
down  year  after  year,  and  thus « becomes  weedy 
and  foul.  People  in  this  country  never  manure 
land  either,  and,  of  course,  in  time  it  becomes 
foul." 


PAST   AND    PRESENT.  259 

"What  kinds  of  grass  are  cultivated  here,  Doc- 
tor?" 

"Here  in  the  south  we  cultivate  rye  grass  large- 
ly. We  also  cultivate  timothy  and  clover,  and  sow 
considerable  corn,  too.  In  the  north  they  raise 
alfalfa  altogether." 

"Why  are  not  horses  and  mules  more  in  use  as 
draft  animals?" 

"Because  of  the  harness,  which  are  very  expen- 
sive if  brought  from  abroad,  and  those  made  of 
leather  tanned  here  are  worthless.  Consequently 
horses  are  used  only  for  the  saddle  and  the  coach. 
Horses  bring  about  one  hundred  dollars  a  head, 
though,  because  the  Chilians  like  the  saddle;  but 
mules  are  worth  only  about  ten  or  fifteen  dollars  a 
head  for  the  very  best.  Donkeys  are  raised  so  that  the 
natives  can  have  something  to  abuse." 

"What  are  the  custom-house  duties  on  imported 
articles,  such  as  agricultural  implements?" 

"About  forty  per  cent,  of  their  valuation." 

The  total  valuation  of  real  estate  in  Chili  is  esti- 
mated at  about  $900,000,000.  In  1882  the  total 
amount  of  wheat  produced  was  over  14,000,000 
bushels . 

Total  amount  of  corn,  500,000  bushels. 
"  "       "  barley,  5,000,000  bushels. 

"  wool,  11,000,000  pounds. 
"  beans,  900,000  bushels. 
"       "  potatoes,  3,000,000  bushels. 


260  CIVrLIZATION   IK    CHILI. 

The  wealth  of  the  nation  is  not  in  its  agriculture, 
although  that  is  great  considering  the  limited  ter- 
ritory within  bounds  of  the  agricultural  districts. 
But  in  the  products  of  the  mine  the  nation  is  rich. 
The  most  important  minerals  are  gold,  silver,  salt- 
petre, copper,  mercury,  nickle,  lead,  cobalt  and 
stone  coal.  But  there  is  also  found  in  consider- 
able quantities,  tin,  borax,  marble,  aluminium, 
agate,  zinc,  antimony,  chalcedony,  magnesia,  jas- 
per, slate,  lime,  building  stone,  and  in  lesser  quan- 
tities all  the  rest  of  the  known  minerals. 


CHAPTKR    XIX. 

Santiago  a  Beautiful  City — Wonderful  Mountain  Scenery — 
Decorated  Mounds — Beautiful  Shrubs — A  Theater  on  the 
Mountain — Ghosts  and  Witches — Old  Aconcagua— The 
Wonderful  Climate — A  Mother  at  Twelve — A  Set  of  liabor- 
ers — A  Scandal  among  the  Seasons — Ignorant  Rosea — Fu- 
ture Chilians — Fleas  and  Dust — The  Great  Alameda — Cow- 
Girls — General  O'Higgins— A  Rose-Bud  Plaza — Rejoicing 
of  Demons — The  City  of  the  Dead — A  Rich  Legacy  from 
Death  Tax— Out  into  the  World. 

^^lANTIAGO  is  by  far  the  most  beautiful  city  in 
'^gil  all  South  America.  Standing  at  the  western 
^^  base  of  the  mighty  Cordilleras,  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  1,800  feet,  it  overlooks  a  vast,  fertile  plain, 
dotted  with  tasteful  villas  and  well-cultivated 
farms,  while  the  great  Cordilleras,  that  tower 
above  it,  and  seem  to  almost  enclose  it  in  a  won- 
derful embrace,  afford  scenery  of  the  grandest  de- 
scription. Enchanting  mountains,  with  then-  deep, 
dark-shaded  ravines  and  snow  caps,  rise  one  above 
the  other  in  sublimest  grandeur.  From  every 
principal  street,  in  any  direction  one  chooses  to 
look,  the  eye  beholds  and  feasts  upon  the  loveliest 
of  scenes.  It  is  the  nook  of  the  world.  Old  Al- 
pine travelers,  standing  upon  the   banks    of   the 


262  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

Mapocho,  that  goes  rushing  through  the  city  like 
an  army  of  merry  boys  let  loose  from  school,  say 
that  more  beautiful  scenery  was  never  beheld. 
Around  you,  above  you,  the  mountains  lift,  eight, 
ten,  fifteen,  twenty  thousand  feet  intT  the  air,  and 
seem  to  watch  each  other  like  silent  ghosts.  You 
are  lost  in  admiration.  The  varied  tints  of  light 
and  shade,  as  the  sun  falls  upon  the  green,  the 
brown,  the  white,  and  loses  itself  in  the  deep  ra- 
vines, impress  you  with  a  great  sense  of  loveliness; 
while  the  towering  cliffs  and  misty  peaks,  that 
reach  to  and  blend  with  the  vaulted  skies,  compel 
feelings  of  reverence  and  awe. 

Cro?s  sj)urs,  ending  in  well-defined  mounds,  ex- 
tend to  the  very  midst  of  the  city.  Some  of  them 
are  thousands  of  feet  high,  and  would  be  of  them- 
selves very  attractive;  but  the  municiimlity,  as 
well  as  gentlemen  of  j)i'ivate  fortune,  have  spent 
millions  of  dollars  in  making  of  them  modern  gar- 
dens of  Eden.  Here  is  a  path,  winding  around  a 
rock-hill  in  gently  ascending  slope,  almost  hidden 
by  green  shrabs  and  trees  that  "flourish  like  the 
wicked."  As  we  ascend,  the  way  grows  crookeder, 
narrower  and  wilder.  You  now  enter  a  craggy, 
romantic  grotto,  where  are  hidden  caves  from 
whose  walls  trickle  the  ice-cold  waters  from  perpet- 
ual snows,  and  where  artificial  serpents,  raised  for 
a  blow,  gleam  upon  you  with  wicked  eyes-,  seeming 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  263 

to  say:  "Come  a  step  farther,  if  you  dare!"  The 
minor  grottos  and  niches  appear  to  have  been  prop- 
erly and  hapi)ily  mated,  and,  as  a  result  of  their 
union,  statuettes  of  new-born  angels,  with  delicate 
wings,  and  older  saints,  with  expressions  of  love, 
are  guarded  by  the  careful  mastiff,  and  by  lions 
and  tigers,  of  which  no  man  need  be  afraid. 

All  along  the  crooked  path  the  honey-suckle, 
giant  geraniums,  ten  feet  high,  with  trunks  like 
young  sapplings,  delicate  roses,  the  Indian  pink, 
blue-bells,  azaleas,  giant  pansies,  forget-me-nots, 
and  a  variety  of  other  flowers  and  ornamental 
shrubs  cling  to  the  seemingly  barren  rocks,  with 
faces  toward  the  road  to  greet  you,  like  pretty 
children  in  summer  dress. 

The  air  is  pure  from  the  breath  of  mountain 
snows  and  sweet  with  the  perfume  of  flowers.  We 
ascend  the  rude  steps  cut  into  the  stone  wall,  and 
mount  up  higher  and  still  higher,  but  there  is  no 
sense  of  danger;  for  the  flowers,  the  clinging  vines, 
the  over-lapping  branches  obscure  the  giddy 
heights  below  and  seen  to  again  reiterate,  "Who's 
afraid?"  Away  up  in  the  heights,  far  above  the 
city,  in  an  obscure  corner,  reached  only  by  ever- 
changing,  ziz-zag  foot-paths,  is  a  pleasant  prom- 
enade, with  rustic  seats  and  over-hanging  trees, 
leading  off  to  a  miniature  lake,  cut  in  the  solid 
rock,  where  the  weary  can  rest  and  bathe,  and 


264  CIVILIZATION   IN  OHILI. 

amuse  themselves  by  tossing  pennies  into  the  wa- 
ter and  watching  the  peon-lads  dive  from  a  great 
height  and  bring  them  up  from  the  bottom.  On 
the  top  of  one  of  these  mounds,  at  least  two  thou- 
sand feet  higher  than  the  city,  is  a  theater  that  is 
well  patronized.  No  wonder;  for  the  tints  of  the 
setting  sun  light  up  the  tips  of  ten  thousand 
mountain  peaks  in  night-cap  attire,  and  reveal 
clefts  and  gorges  whose  crags  frown  down  from 
the  very  sky;  and  as  the  last  crimson  glow  mounts 
the  terraced  stairs,  and 

"The  splendor  falls  on  castle  walls, 
And  snowy  summits,  old  in  story," 

the  red-roofed  city  below,  in  the  dimmer  twi- 
light, looks  like  a  vast  herd  of  sandy  swine  huddled 
for  the  night.  The  on-coming  darkness  and  the 
newly  lighted  street  lamps  change  these  into  weird 
monsters  with  fiery  eyes,  that  wink  and  beckon  and 
nod,  and  seem  to  whisper  together  ia  the  hollow 
winds.  Hamlet's  ghost  may  be  down  there,  "weird 
witches  in  black  attire"  may  be  issuing  from  the 
tombs  for  high  revel.  The  fiery  eyes  winking  in 
silence,  imaginary  figures  beckoning  to  and  fro, 
and  the  mysterious  whisperings  of  the  hollow 
winds  are  all  that  is  left  of  the  mantled  city  below, 
while  up  on  the  theater  grounds  it  is  still  twilight, 
and  away  off  on  the  tips  of  Aconcagua  the  sun  is 
making  his  good-night  bow  before  going  to  bed. 


PAST    AND   PEE8ENT.  265 

This  giant  mountain  of  the  whole  continent  has 
mingled  the  last  touch  of  his  sunlight  splendor 
with  the  crimson  clouds  upon  which  the  rainbow 
has  left  its  glory,  and  the  whole  seems  fixed  in 
solid  forms  of  grandeur.  Who  can  help  but  won- 
der? The  awe  that  such  scenes  inspire  fills  one 
with  joy  akin  to  sadness.  Still  it  is  not  sadness. 
"It  is  not  sorrow;  it  is  not  gloom;  it  is  not  des- 
pondency !  It  is  one  of  the  moods  of  joy."  And  it 
is  such  joy  that  one  desires  to  have  oft  repeated. 

Santiago,  like  all  Southern  Chili,  has  a  glorious 
climate.  It  stimulates  men  and  women  like  con- 
tinued tastes  of  old  wine.  Watch  that  boy.  Born 
in  filth  and  rags,  inheriting  an  inferior  social  posi- 
tion that  places  him  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  social 
scale,  despised  and  treated  as  a  serf  or  an  inferior 
animal,  he  surmounts  them  all  I  With  quick,  elas- 
tic step  and  determined  look,  he  bears  around  upon 
his  head  his  ponderous  basket  of  fruit,  and  bawls 
out  in  masterly,  monotonous  twang  :  "Qaiere 
comprar  bravos  ?"  as  though  selling  fruit  was  the 
greatest  calling  in  life,  and  he  king  of  the  army  of 
venders.  Had  he  been  born  in  a  hot  climate,  only 
starvation  could  stimulate  him  to  such  exercise. 

See  that  army  of  laborers.  They  appear  to  be  the 
slowest,  easiest-going  do-nothings  in  all  the  world! 
They  scarcely  move.  But  it  is  all  a  Chilian  trick; 
for  they  are  employed  by  the  day,  and  their   dis- 


266  oiviLrZATioN  in  chili. 

honesty  leads  them  to  give  the  least  labor  for  the 
largest  pay.  Only  give  them  a  stint  for  a  stipulated 
sum,  and  instead  of  moving  with  th^  slowness  of 
an  old  "hall-clock  pendulum,"  they  will  wake  up, 
half  Indians  as  they  are,  to  sprightly  libor  of  six- 
teen hours  every  da* .  "Seventy  miles  in  twenty- 
four  at  the  East,  over  satin  roads  in  December,  is 
a  Jehu  of  a  drive.  Here  sixty  miles  before  sunset 
hurts  nobody.  Your  horse  has  been  drinking" — 
Santago  air.  "He  will  do  his  best  or  die  a-trying. 
But  he  will  not  last  any  more  than  his  master.  He 
will  want  an  extra  feed.  The  driver  will  want  an 
extra  drink.  He  cannot  be  a  chameleon.  He  can- 
not live  forever  on  air.  He  looks  in  a  tumbler  for 
a  stimulant.  By-and-by  he  flickers,  and  it  is  out, 
brief  candle!     It  is  the  climate." 

"Boys  and  girls  are  born  with  percussion  caps 
on.  Touch  them  and  they  explode.  They  ripen 
early,  in  this  sun  and  tonic  air,  into  manhood  and 
womanhood."  That  young  girl  has  grown  wise  at 
ten,  and  has  learned  the  hidden  mysteries  of  her 
sex.  She  is  fairly  developed  at  eleven,  and  at 
twelve  she  may  become  a  mother!  It  is  all  due  to 
the  climate.  It  quickens  her  brain  and  the  throb 
of  her  pulse.  It  develops  and  strengthens  her 
passions.  It  stimulates  her  body  and  sends  her 
forth  a  seeker  of  pleasure.  She  will  be  wrinkled 
at  twenty ;  she   will  be   old  at  thirty ;  at   forty  she 


PAST   AND    PRESENT.  267 

will  be  "where  the  wicked  cease  from  trouble." 
As  a  rule,  all  Chilian  laborers  are  slow  and 
slovenly,  and  transplanted  into  a  hot  climate,  they 
would  die  of  disease  and  laziness;  but  in  all 
southern  Chili,  from  Valpariso  to  Chiloe  Island, 
they  are  fairly  alive.  Go  to  the  market  i^laces  at 
four  in  the  mornin^-  and  you  will  find  a  great  num- 
ber of  loaded  carts,  driven  from  the  country,  with 
fruits  and  vegetables  awaiting  purchasers.  It  is 
due  to  the  tonic  of  the  refreshing  mountain  and  sea 
breezes. 

Nowhere  in  all  South  America  are  the  seasons  so 
neighborly  as  in  and  around  the  great  mountain 
slope  from  Santiao;o  to  Concepcion.  "The  impro- 
priety of  Winter  sitting  in  the  laj)  of  Spring  has 
made  a  public  scandal,  but  when  September  is  on 
whispering  terms  with  May,  and  January  borrows 
June's  clothes,  and  July  gives  all  her  rainbows  to 
November,  it  is  high  lime  to  talk!  The  winter 
is  in  summer,  and  the  spring  is  in  winter,  and  har- 
vest is  in  seed-time,  and  autumn  is  lost  out  of  the 
calendar  altogether;  and  the  siroccos  blow  from 
the  north,  and  the  cold  winds  from  the 
South,  and  you  must  sail  by  the  almanac  or  lose 
your  reckoning  and  get  lost  in  the  weather. 

"The  eft'ect  of  this  loose  state  of  society  among 
the  seasons  is  delightfully  apparent.  You  never 
saw  such  ignorant  roses  in  all  your  life.  They  bud 


268  CIVILIZATION,  IN   OHILI. 

and  blossom  the  year  round  and  never  stop  to  un- 
dress or  take  a  wink  of  sleep.  Ripening  fruit  and 
baby  blossoms  show  on  the  same  bush  at  once  as 
they  do  in  well-blessed  human  families.  *  *  The 
hills  are  emerald  in  the  winter — Ireland  would 
glory  in  them — and  the  shamrock  grows  as  big  as 
the  burdock.  The  hills  are  tawny  as  African  lions  or 
Sahara  sands  in  the  summer.  The  grasses  look 
withered  and  dry  as  tinder,  but  they  hold  the  con- 
centrated riches  of  the  year  cooked  down  by  fire. 
Turn  out  an  emaciated  old  ox  that  resembles  a 
hoop-skirt  with  a  hide  on,  and  though  you  would 
make  an  affidavit  that  on  such  fare  he  will  resem- 
ble a  hoop-skirfc  with  the  hide  off  in  six  weeks,  yet 
the  old  yoke  bearer  will  grow  fat,  round  and 
smooth  as  a  silk  hat."* 

Santiago  weather  makes  a  man  "belligerent  and 
aggressive  j  it  will  put  new  springs  in  his  temper 
and  make  it  quick  as  a  steel  trap."  And  unless  a 
huge  earthquake  or  some  other  prank  of  nature 
jostles  all  Southern  Chili  out  of  existence,  it  will 
not  be  many  years  till  somebody  from  that  region 
of  bliss  will  climb  up  the  intellectual  ladder  of 
fame  and  compel  the  world  to  look  at  him  and 
sing  his  praises.  Fifty  years  ago  newspapers  and 
books  were  scarcely  known  in  all  the  land.  Fifty 
years  hence   the  world  will  be  talking  of  Chilian 

"From  "Between  the  Gates,"  by  Taylor. 


PAST   AND    PRESENT.  269 

philosophers,  Chilian  poets,  Chilian  mathemati- 
cians, Chilian  scientists,  who  will  rank  with  the 
foremost  men  of  the  age. 

But  Ohili  is  "of  the  earth,  eai'thy."  It  has  two 
atoms  of  things  that  are  both  in  a  lively  state  of 
unrest  in  the  summer  time.  They  are  fleas  and 
dust,  and  both  products  of  the  blessed  weather. 
But  the  first  are  only  innocent  dots  of  acrobats, 
the  mustard  seed  of  full-grown  circuses,  and  the  last 
will  leave  no  darker  trace  upon  a  lady's  garment 
than  a  jjinch  of  salt.  The  first  day  of  your  arrival, 
when  you  are  filling  and  tacking  and  beating  up 
the  breeze  and  bowing  to  it  as  if  it  were  a  friend, 
and  blinking  at  the  dust  that  waltzes  at  you  around 
the  corners  and  bears  down  upon  you  at  an  ana- 
pestic  gait,  as  Byron's  Assyrians  came,  and  you 
winking  at  it  all  as  if  you  had  just  made  a  joke 
and  were  pleased  with  it,  you  vow  you  will  go  home 
to-morrow.  And  when  you  are  hunting  from  chin 
to  gaiters  for  that  prince  of  leapers,  and  assuring 
youi-self  that  "the  wicked-flee- when-no-man-pur- 
sueth"  is  not  the  kind  of  insect  that  has  just 
doubled  the  cape  of  your  left  shoulder,  and  taking 
yourself  to  pieces  at  all  hours  and  never  catching 
anything  but  a  cold,  you  declare  you  will  go  home 
to-night.  But  the  weeks  go  on,  and  the  winds 
blow  on,  and  the  fleas  leap  on,  and  you  stay  on,  at 
first  resigned,  at  last  delighted. 


270  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

Let  us  leave  the  wind,  the  dust,  the  fleas  and 
the  weather,  and  return  to  the  city.  We  are  in  the 
Alameda,  or  public  walk.  The  highway  of  Semira- 
mis  was  never  half  so  roomy  and  grand.  It  is  in 
the  heart  of  the  city,  running  east  and  west.  It 
has  a  width  of  six  hundred  feet,  and  is  over  three 
miles  in  length.  On  each  side,  confined  in 
channels  with  brick  and  cement,  is  a  noisy  brook 
that  leaps  and  babbles  and  laughs  as  it  kisses  the 
roots  of  the  growing  elms  and  is  off  in  a  race  with 
itself  like  a  silly  puppy  chasing  its  own  tail  in  its 
hurried  march  to  the  sea.  The  mountain  winds 
whisper  and  sigh  among  the  over-hanging  branches 
as  though  trying  to  hide  from  the  great  throng  of 
happy  faces  the  monster  statues  and  the  beautiful 
fountains.  This  is  everybody's  resort.  Piled 
under  a  tree  close  to  a  beautiful  bronze  fountain 
sits  a  melon  vender,  with  twenty  cords  of  water 
melons.  He  is  out  bright  and  early  so  as  to  miss 
no  chance  for  a  sale.  Here  is  a  group  of  dusky 
maidens  milking  their  cows  right  under  the  very 
nose  of  a  grand  statue  of  the  Abbe  Molina.  It  is 
a  pretty  picture.  The  morning  birds  are  twitter- 
ing in  the  trees,  and  the  mountain  air  is  as  fresh  as 
though  new-born  from  sweet-smelling  clovers.  In 
every  direction  can  be  seen  groups  of  well  dressed 
ladies  and  dandy  looking  gentlemen,  out  for  their 
morning  walk  and  a  glass  of  fresh  milk.     It  is  the 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  271 

fashion.  By  nine  o'clock  all  trace  of  the  milking 
will  have  disappeared,  leaving  the  grounds  clean 
and  sweet. 

Here  is  a  statue  of  General  Don  Ramon  Freire, 
a  hero  of  1855.  He  is  looking  as  peaceful  as  a 
wise  i^adre  giving  loving  counsel.  But  across 
this  way  is  one  of  another  hero,  General  Carrera, 
who,  with  clenched  teeth  and  protruding  visage, 
seems  to  say:  "I'll  do  it  or  burst."  PerhajDS  he 
did  both. 

Here  you  see  the  statue  of  O'Higgins,  in  full 
uniform,  mounted  on  a  powerful  steed,  proclaim- 
ing liberty  to  the  people.  O'Higgins — who  is  he  ? 
The  greatest  man  that  ever  trod  upon  South  Ameri- 
can soil!  Living  in  a  time  when  the  momentous 
questions  that  disturbed  and  moved  the  nation  to 
its  depths  were  whether  the  clergy  should  friz  the 
hair  on  their  foreheads,  in  the  style  of  modern 
"bangs,"  and  whether  the  chief  ruler  should  go  to 
church  in  uniform  or  in  the  dress  of  a  private  gen- 
tleman, he  freed  the  country  from  the  yoke  of 
Spain;  he  averted  threatened  revolutions;  he  bound 
the  people  together  in  a  firmer  union;  he  gave 
character  and  dignity  to  the  national  Government; 
he  so  directed  the  shaky  helm  of  state  as  to  make 
all  the  interests  of  the  difierent  chieftains  and  men 
of  rank  a  concentrated  unit,  himself  at  the  head; 
and  then,  although  holding  power  almost  unlim- 


272  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

ited,  and  recognized  by  a  vast  majority  of  all  tlie 
men  in  the  nation  as  the  gi'eat  central  figure  of 
power  so  necessary  to  direct  the  ship  of  state,  in 
order  to  apjoease  the  wrath  of  petty  church  offi- 
cials, and  save  his  country  from  a  threatened  civil 
war,  he  resigned  the  supreme  power  he  had  held 
for  six  years.  His  language  on  the  occasion 
ought  to  be  engraved  on  golden  tablets  and  placed 
over  the  door  of  the  capitol  building  of  eveiy  na- 
tion in  the  world:  "Believing  that  it  may  contribute 
to  the  tranquility  of  my  country,  under  present  cir- 
cumstances, that  I  should  lay  down  the  supreme  com- 
mand of  state,  *  *  *  7  come  to  abdicate,  and  do 
hereby  abdicate,  the  power  1  have  held  over  the  great 
nation  and  people  of  Chili."  That  is  certainly  re- 
freshing. We  look  up  at  his  graven  image  again, 
and  in  our  hearts  we  thank  and  love  him  for  his 
unselfish  devotion. 

I  doubt  if  any  city  in  the  new  world  can  contri- 
bute anything  in  the  shape  of  public  walks  that 
will  begin  to  compare  with  the  Alameda  in  Santia- 
go. 

But  the  city  has  other  public  resorts.  We  are 
now  in  a  little  rose-bud  of  a  plaza,  in  front  of  the 
Archbishop's  palace.  It  has  a  history.  Here  once 
stood  the  great  cathedral.  Here,  on  the  very  spot 
upon  which  we  now  sit  amidst  the  roses,  and  look 
up  at  the  monument  "sacred  to  the  momory   of 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  273 

three  thousand  dead,"  for  over  two  hundred  years 
have  "matin  prayers,  vesper  songs,  and  grand 
high-mass  been  rung  and  chanted,  sung  and  said." 
Here  ten  thousand  priests  from  Spain,  from  Rome, 
from  France;  have  lifted  hands  and  blessed  the 
people,  "while  Indians,  Mexicans  and  old  Peru- 
vians stood  around."  These  silent  flowers,  the  gen- 
tle fountains,  the  towering  mausoleo,  are  indeed 
monuments  of  a  terrible  fanaticism.  Here  a  vile 
pretender  of  a  priest  established  the  Heavenly 
Letter-Box,  through  which  he  communicated  with 
all  the  women  of  the  nation.  They  believed  the 
Virgin  Mary  answered  these  letters  in  person.  Oh, 
how  good  and  how  blessed  she  was !  How  kind  in 
her  to  be  so  devoted  to  the  poor,  misguided 
women !  A  great  carnival  must  be  given  in  her 
name!  It  must  be  the  greatest  ever  witnessed  in 
all  the  world!  And  for  this  the  great  cathedral 
had  been  in  preparation  for  many  weeks.  Ten 
thousand  candles,  adjusted  so  as  to  represent  stara, 
amidst  a  thousand  yards  of  muslin  tapestiy  high 
up  in  the  dome,  stood  ready  to  be  lighted.  Eich 
laces,  costly  frills,  gorgeous  ribbons  had  been  so 
arranged  around  the  images  of  saints  and  costly 
paintings  as  to  produce  a  panorama  of  wonder. 
A  colossal  image  of  the  Virgin,  whose  robe 
sparkled  with  diamonds,  was  the  figure-head  of 
great  attraction.     Oh,  what  a  feast!    All  the  city 


274  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

was  in  a  delirium  of  excitement!  But  how  the 
demons  in  hell  rejoiced  that  night!  For  suddenly, 
when  all  the  lamps  and  all  the  candles  had  been 
lighted;  when  the  house  had  been  filled  to  over- 
flowing, and  the  doors  closed  against  a  still  larger 
crowd  seeking  admittance;  when  the  carnival  had 
reached  its  highest  pitch  of  glory — suddenly  there 
arose  an  awful  shriek  of  agony,  that  sounded 
thi'oughout  all  the  city  to  the  very  court  of  heaven 
itself.  The  idolized  image  of  Mary  had  ignited 
from  a  melting  candle,  and  before  anyone  knew 
what  was  the  matter,  the  entire  building  was  a 
solid  sheet  of  flame.  Nearly  three  thousand 
women  and  young  girls  were  charred  and  burned 
beyond  any  possible  hope  of  recognition.  And 
upon  the  spot  the  sorrowful  friends  have  erected 
an  elevated  monument,  suiTounded  with  walks, 
flowers,  trees  and  fountains.  It  is  a  delightful 
place,  often  visited,  not  on  account  of  its  associa- 
tions as  much  as  on  account  of  its  beauty. 

But  we  must  not  taiTy.  It  is  in  keeping  that  we 
should  now  visit  another  public  resort.  It  has  been 
for  many  years,  if  not  the  most  popular,  the  most 
frequented  in  all  the  city.  The  names  of  three 
hundred  thousand  peoj)le  are  registered  who  have 
taken  up  their  abode  here  forever.  We  pass  vinder 
an  arched  gateway  as  we  enter.  On  its  top  is  a 
cross.     Evergreens,   roses  and  forget-me-nots  are 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  275 

intermingled  with  beautiful  flowering  shrubs, 
weeping  willows,  saints  and  solid  crosses  in  mar- 
ble. "A  suppliant  woman,  with  sad,  sightless  eyes 
raised  toward  the  heavens,  impresses  us  with  rev- 
erence and  avve."  It  is  the  city  of  the  dead.  The 
earth  is  rich  with  their  ashes.  The  trees  and  flow- 
ers are  fed  by  their  dust.  "Let  us  hope  they  have 
gained  the  crown,  for  behold  the  crosses  they  have 
left  behind!"  Still  they  come!  There  goes  a  troop 
of  sextons  with  spades.  They  cut  down  into  the 
sandy  earth.  Soon  they  come  to  something  hard. 
It  is  the  old  fragments  of  a  coffin,  which,  with  the 
skull  and  other  bones,  are  rattled  out  upon  the 
sward.  Down  deeper  they  come  to  another,  and 
still  another  and  another,  till  four  grizzly  skulls  are 
rattled  together.  It  is  soon  explained.  All  the 
cemeteries  in  Chili  have  until  this  present  year  of 
'84  belonged  to  the  churches .  They  only  sold  lots 
for  burial  for  a  period  of  four  generations,  or  about 
thirty  years  on  an  average.  If  a  family  who  owned 
a  vault  removed  to  a  distant  part  of  the  country, 
the  lot  was  sold  again  for  a  new  grave. 

A  fat  legacy  the  priests  made  of  it.  The  grave- 
yard is  divided  into  four  parts :  one  for  great  digni- 
taries of  the  church,  one  for  wealthy  and  influential 
gentlemen,  one  for  ordinary  mortals,  and  one  for 
the  rotos — ragged  people,  too  poor  to  pay.  The 
average  price  for  a  lot  two  yards  long  by  one  wide 


276  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

was  twenty  dollars  for  four  generations.  The  same 
sized  lot  for  one  burial  one  year,  three  dollars.  For 
the  privilege  of  erecting  a  large  family  monument 
on  the  same  lot,  thirty  dollars.  A  first  class  hearse, 
owned  by  the  priests,  for  the  removal  of  the  dead 
to  the  cemetery,  cost  fifty  dollars — used  only  for 
great  dignitaries;  second  class  cost  twelve 
dollars;  third  class,  eight  dollars;  fourth  class, 
three  dollars;  fifth  class,  one  dollar.  The 
sixth  class,  though  the  most  faithful  servants 
of  the  Church,  carry  their  dead  in  their  arms  and 
bury  them  without  coffins  in  the  ragged  man's  cor- 
ner. If,  when  the  stipulated  thirty  years  were  up 
(and  the  Chm'ch  always  kept  a  faithful  record),  the 
friends  of  the  deceased  desired  to  continue  in  pos- 
session of  the  lot,  an  additional  thirty  dollars  was 
charged.  If  not,  and  they  desu'ed  to  remove  their 
dead  to  another  cemetery,  the  thirty  dollars  had  to 
be  paid.  It  may  be  the  effect  of  the  climate;  but 
be  that  as  it  may,  a  Chilian  priest  will  scent  a  penny 
and  follow  it  into  the  very  mouth  of  purgatory. 
The  cemetery  in  Santiago  netted  the  parish  priest 
almost  twenty  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

Father  above,  bless  the  world!  Let  us  go  out 
through  the  great  gate  into  the  tides  of  living 
humanity  and  leave  the  silent  dead  with  themselves 
and  their  God. 


CHAPTKR   XX. 

Quinta  Normal— The  Wild  Animals— Taken  in  by  a  Llama— 
A  Rare  Collection  of  Birds— Some  Extraordinary  Ancient 
People— The  President  and  his  Family— Congress  Hall— 
An  Eloquent  Address  of  Old  Times— The  Beginning  of  a 
Reform- A  Holy  Fraud— The  Great  Cathedral  -The  Por- 
tales— Early  Education  —  Beaux  and  Belles  —  A  Downy 
Ceremony— Institutions  of  Learning— Fine  Residences — 
Fortunes— Some  Ordinary  Americans— Farewell. 

[ffi^E  are  still  in  Santiago,  in  Quinta  Normal — 
the  normal  garden.  It  is  beautiful.  Great, 
f  towering  pines,  mated  to  masculine  oaksi 
shed  their  blessings  upon  the  gi-een  sward  below, 
making  it  a  paradise.  Here  are  rustic  seats,  hid- 
den by  growing  vines  and  straggling  flowers  in 
cool  and  shaded  nooks.  Here  is  a  lake,  round  and 
beautiful,  surrounded  with  walks  adorned  with 
statues,  fountains,  blushing  roses,  and  a  world  of 
other  flowers. 

We  are  viewing  the  wild  animals.  There  are 
pacas,  wild  hogs,  zebus,  yaks,  the  customary  lions, 
tigers,  monkeys,  wolves,  foxes,  camels,  and 
hundreds  of  rare  and  beautiful  birds.  We 
stop  to  look  at  a  yard  full  of  llamas,  big,  lit- 
tle, old,  young,  and  of  many  colors.     An  old  griz- 


278  CIVILIZATION    IN   CHILI. 

zly  fellow,  with  a  tawny  hide  and  coal  black  eyes, 
rears  up,  with  forefeet  on  top  the  fence,  and  puts 
his  slender  head  over  to  greet,  us.  He  looks  so 
timid,  so  mild,  so  inquuing,  so  beseeching,  that 
we  are  won  at  once.  We  are  certain  that  he  is 
kind  and  good,  and  out  goes  our  hand  to  pat  his 
slender  neck — Presto!  the  thief!  the  villain!  the 
Judas!  The  incarnation  of  everything  wicked 
and  threacherous!  Back  go  his  ears;  his  eyes 
gleam  like  balls  of  firej  his  mouth  flies  open  angri- 
ly, and  he  blows  a  handful  of  mucous  from  his  nose 
straight  into  om'  face;  then  tiurns  tail  and  kicks  up 
his  heels  as  though  enjoying  the  joke.  We  leam 
from  inquiry  that  the  llama  always,  when  possible, 
plays  ojff  such  pranks  upon  strangers. 

We  are  in  the  museum,  in  the  ornithological  de- 
partment. We  look,  we  stare  and  wonder!  Who 
in  all  this  undeveloped  land,  so  young  in  scientific 
research,  has  done  this  ?  A  naturalist  would  revel 
here  for  days.  There  are  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands of  birds,  as  natural  as  life.  Humming 
birds  in  great  variety  and  great  beauty;  golden 
pheasants,  handsome  and  atti'active;  chattering 
icterias;  hooded  birds  of  paradise;  the  magnificent 
fan-tailed  lyre  bird;  parrots  and  paroquets  in  great 
vrriety;  the  horned  screamer;  the  famous  secretary 
bird;  the  huge  condor;  birds  from  the  sea  and  birds 
from  the  land — from  Europe,  from  Asia  and  from 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  279 

all  parts  of  South  America — form  a  collection  of 
whicli  any  institution  or  any  nation  would  be  proud. 
Take  but  a  passing  view,  for  the  old  janitor  has  let 
us  in  out  of  regular  hours,  and  stands  holding  the 
keys  for  our  exit. 

The  next  department  is  labeled,  Collecciones  Eara. 
Let  us  enter.  Ah,  there  he  sits!  We  have  heard 
of  that  old  gentleman  before.  It  is  solemnly  re- 
corded in  Diego's  "Kingdom  of  Chili,"  that  whien 
Valdivia's  forces  met  the  Indians  at  Imperial,  a 
great  red  cloud  overshadowed  them,  of  wonderful 
brightness.  While  the  astonished  armies  gazed  in 
profound  awe  and  wonder,  an  angel  rolled  back  the 
crimson  curtains  and  revealed  the  Virgin  Mary, 
gorgeously  arrayed  as  (jueen  of  heaven,  with  an 
old  Indian  kneeling  before  her  asking  for  mercy. 
The  Indians  fled,  and  the  battle  was  decided  with- 
out bloodshed.  We  are  inclined  to  accept  most 
things  we  read  in  history  as  facts,  but  we  must 
confess  that,  all  along,  this  story  has  staggered  us; 
but  now  we  have  the  proof  (!!)  right  before  our 
eyes.  For  here  is  the  old  Indian,  still  in  a  half- 
kneeling,  half-sitting,  suppliant  position,  preserved 
as  an  historic  relic.  He  is  dried;  he  is  smoked;  he 
is  pickled  and  tanned;  he  is  grim,  gi-izzled  and  gray. 
He  is  tied  around  and  around  with  rawhide  strips, 
with  his  knees  reaching  to  his  ears,  his  mouth 
open,  eyes  gone,  and  garments  old  and  tanned  like 


280  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

his  skin.  He  is  scarcely  an  impersonation  of 
Satan,  for  he  has  a  milder  look — somewhat  as 
though  that  fiend  had  tried  to  paint  his  own  pic- 
ture, and  gave  it  an  expression  of  innocence  to  hide 
his  claws. 

Around  the  corner  sit  the  old  man's  relatives — a 
dozen  of  them,  all  dried  and  tanned  and  pickled, 
and  bound  up,  with  knees  extending  to  the  ears, 
like  himself.  What  if  they  could  speak!  Ah,  they 
could  tell  a  story ! — a  story  of  a  great,  partly  civ- 
ilized nation,  that  trod  the  soil  a  thousand  years 
before  the  enlightened  world  had  ever  dreamed  of 
an  America.  They  could  tell  of  immense  idols, 
worshiped  in  gi'eat  temples;  of  a  nation  that  lived 
and  loved  and  struggled,  perhaps,  amidst  defeat 
and  victory;  they  could  tell  stories  of  adventure, 
of  conquests,  of  the  upbuilding  of  an  empire;  of 
its  decline,  its  fall  and  final  disappearance  from  the 
stage  of  action.  Speak,  old  Peruvian,  speak!  Why 
wilt  thou  not  speak  ?     Speak — 

"For  thou  long  enough  hast  acted  dummy; 

Thou  hast  a  tongue — come,  let's  hear  its  tune; 
Thou  art  standing  on  thy  legs,  above  ground,  mummy, 

Kevisiting  the  gjimpsea  of  the  moon; 
Not  like  ghosts  and  disembodied   creatures, 
But  with  thy  bones,  and  flesh,  and  limbs,  and  features." 

Ah,  you  will  not  speak !  Farewell,  then;  we 
have  seen  enough  of  your  grizzly  visage,  mocker  of 
death,  and  shall  remember  you  forever. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  281 

We  are  now  in  front  of  the  President's  mansion — 
a  large,  clumsy  affair,  like  a  huge  wall,  with  no 
attempts  at  ornament.  It  is  ornamented  and  beau- 
tified inside,  however;  but  its  chief  est  attraction  is 
the  president's  family.  Domingo  Santa  Maria,  the 
executive  head  of  the  nation,  is  a  great  man,  whose 
name  in  English,  oddly  enough,  is  Sunday  Saint 
Mary,  but  he  is  neither  a  day  of  rest,  a  saint,  nor  a 
woman.  He  is  a  good  man,  beloved  and  almost 
idolized  by  one  portion  of  the  people,  and  cursed 
and  hated  by  the  other.  Elected  by  the  Liberals 
in  opposition  to  Romanism,  he  has  gathered  around 
him  a  cabinet  of  noble  gentlemen,  who  look  at 
truths  as  they  exist,  and  are  fearless  in  duty. 
Having  control  of  all  the  offices,  from  Secretary  of 
State  and  governors  of  the  provinces  down  to 
justices  of  the  peace,  with  almost  unlimited  power 
to  create  and  set  aside,  he  has  not  hesitated,  in  the 
face  of  storm  and  opposition,  to  use  his  high  office 
to  bring  about  needed  reforms.  The  first  was  to 
give  the  Pope's  envoy  from  Rome — on  a  mission  to 
Chili  to  sell  indulgences  and  stir  up  the  people 
against  their  own  nation — his  passport  and  send 
him  home.  The  second  was  to  wrest  the  cemeteries 
from  the  hands  of  the  priests,  and  make  them  free. 
The  third  was  to  establish  civil  marriage — setting 
at  rest  the  consciences  of  thousands  of  his  subjects 
who  were  living  in  illegal   marriage,  or  hesitating 


282  CIVILIZATION   IN   OHILI. 

on  the  very  verge  of  selling  themselves  to  Rome 
for  the  sake  of  a  family.  All  this  was  contested 
inch  by  inch,  and  was  carried  against  the  popular 
voice  of  nearly  every  woman  and  young  girl  in  the 
State,  as  well  as  all  the  ignorant  masses  not  enti- 
tled to  a  vote,  the  priests  whose  names  are  legion, 
and  the  gentlemen  of  rank  adhering  to  the  foibles 
of  Rome.  And  as  sure  as  Santa  Maria  lives,  he 
will  not  stop  short  of  the  one  great  object  of  his 
administration — the  separation  of  Church  and 
State.  "Thank  heaven  for  Santa  Maria!"  say  the 
Liberals.  "To  hell  with  Santa  Maria!"  say  the 
maddened  priests  and  their  adherents. 

Santa  Maria  is  a  man  of  good  sense.  It  is  pleas- 
ant to  meet  one  of  his  address  in  this  land  of  aris- 
tocracy. He  is  like  a  father  to  all  the  people, 
meeting  them  not  as  a  prince  or  a  ruler,  but  as  a 
friend.  "I  am  Santa  Maria,"  he  said,  extending 
his  hand  as  he  introduced  himself  to  one  of  our 
teachers,  a  person  of  very  humble  pretensions; 
"and  this  is  my  dear  wife,  and  these  my  children — 
all  of  them,  ten  of  them."  Who  could  help  loving 
such  a  ruler  ?  who  could  help  admiring  his  family  ? 
Graceful,  queenly  daughters,  and  noble,  manly 
sons;  and  such  a  mother!  She  is  a  very  queen, 
large,  well-formed,  a  mother  ten  times,  and  looking 
no  older  than  forty,  she  carries  with  her  a  becom- 
ing dignity   and    ease  of    manners    that  at  once 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  283 

makes  her  your  friend.  In  all  the  land  of  Chili  it 
is  the  custom  of  the  wealthy  to  leave  their  chil- 
dren entirely  in  the  care  of  a  nmse,  and  as  the 
latter  are  villainously  ignoiant  and  often  cruel,  the 
tender  little  blossoms  die  for  want  of  proper  care. 
But  Mrs.  Santa  Maria  is  a  true  mother,  nursing 
her  own  children  and  caring  for  them  during  all 
the  days  and  hours  of  their  infancy. 

The  President's  mansion  is  massive,  majestic, 
sublime  and  sad.  Like  a  towering  Araucanian 
damsel,  with  big  sides  and  protruding  front,  it  has 
more  strength  than  beauty.  The  whole  thing  was 
a  misconception,  planned  for  a  public  edifice  in 
Mexico  and  given  to  Chili  by  mistake  of  the  archi- 
tect. It  has  a  front  360  feet  wide,  and  is  over  five 
hundred  feet  in  length.  It  was  commenced  by 
O'Higgins  in  1787,  and  finished  a  quarter  century 
later,  at  an  expense  of  one  and  a  half  million  dol- 
lars. It  is  an  oriental  omnibus,  holding  the  Pres- 
ident and  family,  all  the  cabinet  officers  and  their 
families,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  the 
government  architect,  the  civil  engineer  of  State, 
the  superintendent  of  primary  education;  it  holds 
the  northern  telegraph  office;  it  is  used  as  a  gov- 
ernment arsenal;  it  is  the  government  mint,  where 
all  the  nation's  mone}'  is  coined;  it  is  head  qiiar- 
ters  for  the  superintendent  of  police;  it  is  the  na- 
tional treasury  building — and   the   rest   of   it  will 


284  CIVILIZATION   IN  OHILI. 

be  fitted  up  for  public  use  when  the  needs  of  the 
country  require  it. 

Congress  Hall  is  a  respectable — a  very  respect- 
able building,  occupying  an  entire  block.  It  is 
254  feet  long  and  247  wide,  and  about  seventy-five 
feet  in  height,  with  a  combination  of  Doric  and 
Grecian  ai'chitecture.  The  senate  chamber  is  large, 
cool,  inviting,  semi-circular  in  form,  and  covers  an 
area  of  more  than  224  square  metres.  The  house  of 
deputies  is  still  larger.  What  scenes  have  been 
enacted  here  !  What  excitement,  what  quarrels, 
what  victories  these  sombre  pillars  have  witnessed! 
Here  in  early  days,  when  the  nation  was  an  un- 
propitious  sprout,  the  wise  legislators  discoursed 
upon  the  important  subject  of  frizzes  for  gentle- 
men, in  melodramatic  voice  and  gestures  wonderful 
to  behold. 

"Seiiores,"  said  the  gentleman  from  Coquimbo, 
Sefior  Martinez  Friere,  rising  from  his  seat  with 
flashing  eyes  and  compressed  lips;  "Senores:  This 
bill  to  prohibit  the  wearing  of  bangs  by  gentlemen 
is  of  the  utmost  importance.  Bangs,  sir,  are  a 
national  disgrace  to  this  great  republic.  Look 
abroad,  and  what  do  you  behold?  Even  our  spir- 
itual fathers  are  given  to  this  vile  practice,  and  are 
trying  to  beautify  their  forms  by  frizzing  the  hair 
over  the  eyes.  Is  this  a  custom  tending  to  elevate 
the  morals  of  mankind  ?     Shall  our  growing  sons 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  285 

bloom  into  intelligent  manhood  with  all  the  vile- 
ness  of  these  nefarious  practices  paraded  perpetually 
before  theii-  eyes?  And  that,  too,  seilores,  by  those 
to  whom  they  are  taught  to  look  for  advice  and 
counsel  !  If  so,  will  they  not  become  effiminated  ? 
Will  the  desire  not  grow  upon  them  to  imitate — to 
imitate  the  softer  sex,  until  we  find  a  nation  of  men 
in  petticoats  and  rufHed  pants?  Sirs,  this  bill 
should  become  a  law.  It  is  the  wish  of  all  the  peo- 
ple that  it  should  become  a  law.  As  a  representative 
of  one  of  the  greatest  provinces  in  this  nation,  I  know 
that  my  constituents  will  be  greatly  disappointed 
if  it  does  not  become  a  law.  And  I  declare  to  you, 
sir,  and  to  these,  my  fellow  senators,  that  in  the 
name  of  my  country,  in  the  name  of  all  her  fair 
sons  and  daughters,  in  the  name  of  om-  good 
mothers  whose  glory  is  being  trampled  in  the  dust, 
in  the  name  of  the  Church  whose  sanctuaries  are 
being  defiled,  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  good,  and 
pure,  and  noble,  with  the  eyes  of  Heaven  looking 
down  upon  me  and  demanding  justice  of  all  my 
actions— I  declare  to  you  that  I  will  lend  my  hand, 
my  heart,  my  head,  my  all,  to  the  rooting  out  of 
this  great  evil  from  our  land,  and  shall  never  cease 
to  cry  eternal  destruction  and  death  to  bangs,  as 
now  worn  by  the  clergy  and  many  influential  gen- 
tlemen in  all  our  land  !"  [Tremendous  applause, 
mingled  with  hisses  and  groans,  j 


286  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

Chili  has  greatened  since  then.  Stil],  questions 
seemingly  as  ridiculous  as  bangs  have  stirred  the 
nation  to  its  profoundest  depth  in  recent  years.  In 
1883  the  priests  flooded  the  land  with  circulars 
giving  a  hundred  reasons  why  civil  marriage 
should  not  be  established.  A  few  years  previous, 
a  well-known  man,  who  had  faithfully  served  his 
country,  quan'eled  with  his  wife.  She  fled.  In 
course  of  time,  the  man,  not  being  able  to  as- 
certain whether  she  were  living  or  dead,  took  an- 
other, contrary  to  the  wishes  of  his  Church.  Short- 
ly after  this  he  became  very  sick,  and  his  friends 
despaired  of  his  life.  A  priest  called  upon  him, 
demanding  him  to  renounce  his  new  wife  and  re- 
ceive absolution,  which  he  refused  to  do.  The 
priest  called  again,  and  still  again  on  succeeding 
days,  making  the  same  demand.  Threats  followed, 
and  finally  the  poor,  harassed  man,  in  despair, 
took  from  his  pillow  a  revolver  and  drove  the  priest 
from  the  room.  The  man  died,  and  the  priests  re- 
fused him  burial.  The  family  appealed  to  the 
mayor  of  the  city,  who  ordered  him  buried.  The 
priests  appealed  to  the  Bishop  of  Concepcion,  who 
declared  he  should  not  be  buried;  but  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Republic  promptly  overruled  the 
Bishop,  and  oi-dered  the  man  interred. 

But  the  matter  did  not  end  thus;  for  the  whole 
nation  became  aroused.     The  Church  hurled  bitter 


PAST    AND    PREBENT.  287 

anathemas  and  maledictions  at  the  President,  de- 
nouncing him  as  a  heretic  and  a  corrupter  of  all 
that  was  good.  The  press  was  full  of  it,  and  for  a 
month  the  people  talked  of  scarcely  anything  else. 
For  several  years  the  battle  thus  begun  was  waged, 
until,  at  the  earnest  recommendations  of  Santa 
Maria,  the  national  congress  decided  against  the 
Church  and  threw  the  cemeteries  all  open  to  the 
public  in  1883. 

There  goes  a  lumbering  coach,  drawn  by  two 
donkeys,  with  a  driver  seated  in  front  dressed  in 
red,  and  a  priest  inside.  The  whole  outfit  is  called 
the  Host,  probably  from  a  small  box  carried  by  the 
priest  called  hostiario^  from  the  unconsecrated 
wafers  it  contains.  As  the  Host  moves  onward,  a 
boy,  also  dressed  in  red,  vigorously  rings  a  bell  to 
call  attention  of  the  passing  multitude.  A  strange 
sight!  Men  of  education, who  denounce  the  Church 
most  bitterly,  stop  and  uncover  their  heads;  some  of 
them  carefully  spread  a  handkerchief  and  kneel 
before  the  holy  fraud,  while  a  majority  of  all  the 
lower  classes  fall  at  once  to  their  knees.  When  a 
cross-road  is  reached,  the  people,  for  a  distance  of  a 
whole  block,  either  uncover  their  heads  or  bow  to 
the  earth.  The  Host  is  on  its  way  to  a  distant 
part  of  the  city,  where  the  priest  is  to  admioister 
the  Sacrament  to  a  dying  penitent. 

We  are  in  front  of  the  great  cathedral.     We  ob- 


288  CIVILIZATION   IN   OHILI. 

serve  the  same  deference  paid  to  the  Church,  even 
by  men  who  have  been  excommunicated;  for  but 
few  go  by  without  removing  their  hats.  It  is  a  cus- 
tom grown  upon  the  people  from  infancy.  The 
building  will  shelter  fourteen  thousand  people,  has 
a  length  of  almost  six  hundred  feet,  and  is  two 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  wide.  It  is  three  and  a 
half  centuries  old,  is  a  witnesser  of  tremendous 
wars,  terrible  earthquakes,  dreaded  pestilences, 
and  the  births,  marriages  and  deaths  of  a  thousand 
generations.  It  contains  more  than  a  score  of  al- 
tars and  a  multitude  of  graven  images  before  whom 
the  people  bow.  It  has  massive  arches  and  tower- 
ing columns  that  are  indeed  "grand,  gloomy  and 
spectral."  Commenced  by  Valdivia,  it  has  never 
been  completed .  Destroyed  twice  by  earthquakes, 
it  is  still  a  towering  monument  of  solidity  and 
firmness.  Bowed  with  age,  it  has  the  appearance 
of  being  new-born.  A  monument  of  ugliness,  it  is 
greatly  admired.  Here  souls  have  been  created, 
blessed,  and  forever  damned,  according  to  the  pas- 
sions and  humor  of  the  priests.  The  great  aiTay  of 
stained  glass,  the  expensive  paintings  in  great  num- 
ber, the  inwrought  gold  that  glitters  from  over- 
head, all  betoken  gi'eat  wealth;  still  it  is  a  monu- 
ment of  perpetual  charity.  Like  a  famished  Tartar 
with  open  mouth,  it  points  to  its  own  imperfec- 
tions   and  cries,  "Give!  give!  give!"     The    great 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  289 

cathedral,  said  to  be  the  gi-eatest  on  the  whole 
continent,  will  nevey-  be  completed.  Millions  of 
dollars  have  been  collected  for  that  purpose — 
enough  to  overlay  it  with  gold;  and  still  it  stands 
and  will  ever  stand,  crying,  "Give I  give!"  With- 
out it  the  Church  would  be  bereft  of  a  pretext  for 
wholesale  begging.  Completed,  a  large  revenue, 
ever  inflowing  for  the  sly  and  crafty  priests,  would 
be  cut  off. 

We  are  now  paying  our  respects  to  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  edifices  in  all  the  city— the  "Portal 
Fernandez  Concha."  It  is  a  spacious  gallery  of 
eighteen  arches,  on  which  is  raised  a  two-storied 
building — the  whole  being  four-stories  in  height. 
I  cannot  describe  it.  It  is  beautiful.  It  is  pictur- 
esque. It  is  strange  and  odd.  It  is  poetic.  It  is 
fascinating  and  charming.  You  seem  to  be  in  the 
great  court  of  a  marble  palace,  arched  overhead. 
On  the  sides  are  beautiful  frescoes,  pretty  engrav- 
ings, and  little  niches  full  of  statuettes.  The  gi'eat 
dome  is  of  beautiful  glass.  Here  is  a  natural  cave, 
made  of  granite  boulders.  Its  dark  recesses  look 
cool  and  inviting.  Be  careful,  there  is  a  monster 
serpent,  coiled,  in  readiness  for  a  strike  !  Pshaw  ! 
— it  is  made  of  stone.  On  penetrating  into  the 
mouth  of  the  cave  we  find  it  is  the  front  doorway 
to  a  private  dwelling.  All  of  these  fancy  doors 
along  the  sides  lead  into  immense  business  houses 


290  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

— the  fashionable  shopping-places  for  the  elite 
Away  up  in  the  third  and  fourth  stories,  surround- 
ing this  fairy -like  court,  is  the  great  Santiago  Hotel, 
for  many  years  the  best  in  all  the  Pacific  States, 
and  claimed  to  be  the  bef?t  in  all  South  America. 
Here  are  also  Portals  Bulnes  and  MeLure,  two 
immense  edifiices  of  which  any  city  ought  to  be 
proud. 

A  few  years  ago,  learning  was  limited  to  a  kowl- 
ede  of  Christian  religion,  as  understood  and  prac- 
ticed by  the  priests  of  Rome.  The  Santiago  belle 
was  then  an  object  of  most  terrible  vigilance. 
Between  her  mother  and  her  father-confessor,  she 
grew  up  to  be  a  thing  of  putty — a  wax  doll,  use- 
less but  pretty.  The  first  was  charged  to  give  at- 
tention to  all  the  secret  sensations  of  her  soul;  the 
second  guarded  all  her  actions.  She  could  not 
read  she  could  not  write;  she  knew  nothing  of 
housework,  nothing  of  business,  nothing  of  the 
transpiring  events  of  the  world;  for  all  these  things 
it  was  believed  were  degrading,  and  helped  expose 
her  to  the  snares  of  wicked  men.  The  young  boys 
and  young  men  were  scarcely  better  off.  They  were 
not  at  all  permitted  on  the  streets  without  a  guard- 
ian. Everywhere  and  at  all  times  they  were  watched , 
and  no  one  trusted  them.  They  were  cradled  pig- 
mies, dwarfed  in  intellect  by  being  tied  to  the  pa- 
ternal waistcoat. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  291 

A  young  man  with  down  on  his  lip,  and  the  dig- 
nity of  rising  manhood  resting  on  his  shoulders, 
could  not  lather  his  face  and  shave  without  consent 
of  the  father,  all  the  household  concurrinoj.  "When 
that  eventful  thing  first  transpired,  it  was  to  the 
youth  something  long  to  be  remembered.  The 
priest  who  had  baptised  him  was  first  consulted; 
the  consent  of  the  god-mother  and  godfather  were 
next  procured;  then  the  grand-father  and  the 
grandmother  were  consulted;  and  at  last,  amidst  a 
great  family  gathering,  where  the  eavory  roast  and 
the  red-eyed  wine  were  important  factors, 

"  Then  the  Master, 
With  a  gesture  of  commmand 
Waved  his  hand; 
Loud  and  sudden  there  was  heard  " 

the  rattle  of  the  sharp-edged  razor  upon  his  downy 
lip,  and  the  youth,  in  the  hands  of  a  skillful  bar- 
ber, was  transformed  into  the  first  degree  of  man- 
hood. 

"And  lo  I  from  the  assembled  crowd 
There  rose  a  shout,  prolongd  and  loud." 

Still  he  was  not  free,  not  a  man;  nor  could  he  be 
until  he  had  a  business  of  his  own,  or  had  arrived 
at  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  his  existence.  He  could 
not  smoke  or  drink  before  his  parents.  If  he  de- 
sired the  favor  of  a  walk  with  a  ti'usted  servant,  he 
would  appear   before   his   father   with  a  stiff  and 


292  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

formal  bow,  and  say:  "If  your  excellency  will  per- 
mit." 

The  young  beaux  and  belles,  during  those  early 
days,  were  not  allowed  the  exquisite  pleasures  of 
the  hop.  During  such  festive  occasions  they  were 
put  under  lock  and  key,  under  the  gentle  superin- 
tendence of  granny  and  a  trusted  servant.  The 
hop  was  for  the  old  folks.  Indeed,  if  there  was 
anything  calculated  to  make  the  Santiogians  fools, 
it  was  their  early  education. 

But  now,  behold  how  different !  Here  is  the 
National  Library,  containing  42,000  volumes  of 
choice  literature,  open  every  day  in  the  week  for 
all  classes.  Another  public  libraiy,  the  National 
Institute,  has  over  10,000  volumes;  and  still  another 
has  about  seven  thousand.  Here  is  the  great  Uni- 
versity, filled  every  year  to  overflowing  with  earn- 
est and  thoughtful  young  men.  It  is  a  grand  af- 
fair— still  in  its  infancy,  but  grand  in  its  outcome. 
Here  is  the  National  Institute,  with  a  course  of 
study  embracing  mathematics,  practical  surveying, 
French,  German,  English,  Latin,  physics,  natural 
history,  chemistry,  astronomy,  cosmography,  and 
other  sciences,  covering  a  period  of  six  years'  study. 
Here  is  the  Normal  School,  the  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, the  Military  Academy,  and  a  great  number  of 
private  institutions,  all  doing  good  work.  Here  are 
a  score  of  newspapers,  delving  into  all  manner  of 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  293 

evil  and  ways  of  ignorance,  and  affording  the  peo- 
ple fresh  and  original  matter  full  of  excellency,  and 
of  sufficient  worth  to  keep  them  abrest  of  the  great 
tide  of  the  world . 

Santiago  has  many  bautiful  palaces,  where  dwell 
the  Jay  Goulds  and  the  Eothschilds  of  the  nation. 
They  are  either  built  of  Italian  marble  or  in  its  im- 
itation. We  take  but  a  passing  look.  They  are 
beautiful,  grand  and  colossal ;  but  they  are  not  for 
us,  nor  of  us.  We  are  convinced,  however,  as  we 
turn  away,  that  their  owners,  if  they  are  rich,  are 
generous.  See  that  great  army  of  beggars  ! — none 
go  away  empty.  American  and  Irish  tramps,  able- 
bodied  and  strong,  make  from  ten  to  twenty  dol- 
lars per  day  going  about  begging  in  rags  and  filth. 

That  large  frame  house,  of  such  elegance  and 
taste  as  to  fill  any  moderate  measure  of  comparison, 
was  built  in  the  United  States  and  shipped  here  in 
sections.  It  was  done  by  Meigs.  Meigs— who  is 
he  ?  He  tvas,  so  we  are  told,  a  Calitornian,  an  ad- 
venturer, who  left  home  in  debt,  came  to  this  coast, 
became  a  railway  king  worth  his  millions,  and  then 
— died. 

Fortunes  are  easily  made  here.  There  is  an 
Americam  photographer,  "salting"  away  his  ten 
thousand  a  year  above  all  expenses.  Here  are  two 
American  dentists,  clever  at  their  craft,  but  very 
ordinary  fellows  in  other  affairs,  clearing  and  sav- 


294  CIVILIZATION   IN   OHILI. 

ing,  as  the  product  of  the  punch  and  gouge,  file 
and  forceps,  a  neat  fortune  of  twenty  thousand 
dollars,  each,  per  annum. 

Farewell,  Santiago.  We  have  spent  a  week  with- 
in your  limits;  but  only  three  or  four  hours  of  the 
whole  could  be  devoted  to  sight-seeing.  We  have 
not  told  of  half  your  greatness;  but  we  have  done 
our  best  under  the  circumstances. 


CHAPTRR   XXI. 

Valparaiso — John  Saaredra — A  Jolly  Englishman — Cochrane 
a  Foreigner — Discordant  Houses — Climbing  up  the  City — 
High  Prices — A  Poor  Man — Chilian  Promises — A  Drove  of 
Turkeys— White  Petticoats — A  Belle — A  Beau— Wedding 
Outfits— A  Wedding. 

[f^A-LPARAlSO  means  Vale  of  Paradise.  It 
certainly  is  rightly  named,  for  the  whole  city 

^  is  on  a  number  of  hiU><,  and  I  presume,  reas- 
oning from  the  same  standpoint,  it  is  like  Paradise 
because  it  Las  thieves  in  it.  The  vale  was  cap- 
tured from  the  Indians  in  1536,  by  one  John  Saa- 
redra, who,  eight  years  later,  laid  out  the  Paradise 
and  had  it  dedicated  under  its  present  name  in 
three  separate  parts:  The  Port,  The  Saint  John-of- 
■God,  and  The  Almendral.  Whether  that  effort 
killed  Saaredra  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain. 
It  is  quite  certain,  though,  that  he  died. 

The  old  city,  however,  is  gtill  alive,  looking  as 
fresh  and  as  young  as  a  country  belle,  and  con- 
taining, besides  its  eighty  thousand  natives,  about 
four  thousand  English  and  more  than  that  many 
German  inhabitants.  The  first  person  who  meets 
us  after  landing  is  a  round-faced,  fat,  jolly-looking 


296  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

Englishman,  in  close-fitting  suit,  a  nice  cane  and 
a  silk  hat. 

"Hello,  Doctor!"  we  say,  mistaking  the  familiar 
type  for  a  former  acquaintance. 

'"EUo,"  he  says,  very  stifly. 

"Have  we  not  met  before  ?" 

"Cawn't  tell  you,  sir." 

"Ah! — yes — I  see,  I  am  mistaken.  Beg  pardon. 
I  thought  you  were  an  acquaintance.  However,  I 
am  glad  to  meet  with  some  one  who  speaks  the 
English  language." 

"Yes,  you  don't  'ear  Hinglish  very  hoftenhin 
South  America;  houtside  of  Valparaiso,  there  his 
scarcely  han  Hinglishman  on  the  'ole  coast." 

"May  I  ask  if  you  reside  here?" 

"Hi  reside  'ere,  sir;  'ave  lived  ere  habout  height 
years." 

"Ah,  indeed!  You  are  very  well  acquainted  with 
the  country,  then  ?" 

"Guess  hi  ham;  hi  know  Chili  from  one  hend 
to  the  bother,  like  ha  book." 

"I  am  very  fortunate,  then,  in  meeting  you.  I 
came  here  to  build  up  a  good  American  school,  if 
possible,  and  you  may  be  able  to  give  me  much 
needed  information." 

"Habout  schools  ?" 

"Yes." 

'  'Your  school  going  to  be  Hinglish  ?" 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  297 

"Yes." 

"Well,  young  man,  your  prospects  hare  not 
hoverly  bright,  hi  can  tell  you  that." 

"Why?" 

"Well,  you'll  please  bexcuse  me;  but  to  tell  the 
truth,  Hamericans  speak  Hinglish  too  bad  to  do 
henything  'ere  has  teachers;  hif  you  were  Hinglish, 
you  could  likely  build  huj)  heny  kind  hof  a  school 
you'd  like,  but  has  hit  his,  your  hacceuthis  too  bad 
to  suit  the  people." 

We  pass  on  to  The  Port,  which  is  the  only  level 
portion,  and  the  real  business  part  of  the  city.  The 
houses  are  three  storied,  the  streets  are  narrow, 
well-paved,  and  filled  with  busy,  bustling  men. 
Here,  in  a  very  little  public  square,  is  a  large  statue 
of  Cochrane.  As  his  name  implies,  he  was  a  for- 
eigner, to  whom  there  have  been  so  many  sta'ues 
erected  in  Chili  that  the  name  has  become  a  catch- 
word. 

"Here,"  says  an  enthusiastic  admirer,  "is  a  grand 
statue  erected  to  virtue!"  But  the  words  are 
scarcely  out  of  his  mouth  till  some  one  yells: 
"Another  foreigner!" 

The  houses  in  Valj)araiso  (as  well  as  in  all  west- 
ern South  America)  are  entirely  out  of  tune  with 
the  suiTOundings.  The  beautiful  hills,  rising  one 
above  the  other,  the  majestic  mountains,  the  mini  a- 
ture  cataracts   dancing  and    gleaming  in    the    sun, 


298  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

the  beautiful  bay  with  its  hundreds  of  vessels  lying 
at  anchor  and  its  rolling  tides  washing  the  gray 
rocks — all  combine  to  give  one  a  feeling  of  peace 
and  love,  and  make  him  feel  sweet  toward  all  the 
world;  but  when  he  turns  from  these  and  contem- 
plates the  houses,  his  poetic  feelings  are  frozen 
stark  stiff.  The  prim,  hideous,  straight-up-and- 
down  things,  with  their  thick  walls,  plastered  all 
over  to  resemble  stone,  are  so  stiff,  formal,  forbid- 
ding and  ugly,  so  suggestive  of  damp,  cold  and 
cramp  colic,  so  out  of  harmony  with  the  gracious 
landscape,  so  dead  and  dumb  to  the  poetry  that 
speaks  out  from  all  the  sun'oundings,  as- to  be  sug- 
gestive "of  an  undertaker  at  a  picnic  or  a  corpse  at 
a  wedding." 

Here  we  go,  winding  our  way  around  the  hills, 
turning  the  cape  of  some  man's  garden,  that 
stands  on  the  very  edge  of  a  precipice  hundreds 
of  feet  deep,  ourselves  clinging  to  the  iron  railing 
that  skirts  the  narrow  pathway  cut  in  the  solid 
rocks.  Up,  up  we  go,  now  turning  to  the  right, 
now  to  the  left,  as  we  follow  the  ever-changing, 
zig-zag  i^ath.  We  stop,  out  of  breath,  to  view  the 
scene  below  us.  Not  a  ripple  is  to  be  seen  on  the 
great  bay,  and  the  countless  ships  are  silent  and 
motionless  as  ghosts.  The  streets  in  the  level  por- 
tion of  the  town  look  wee  and  narrow;  and  the 
great  array  of  red  roofs,  with  many  visible  columns 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  299 

of  ascending  smoke,  is  a  strange  mixture  of  beauty 
and  ugliness.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  picture  is  very 
pleasing — something  like  sweet  harmony  out  of 
deafening  discord. 

How  tired  we  are!  Half  a  mile  of  climbing  has 
taken  our  breath  and  made  our  sides  ache;  but  a 
lady  in  elegant  costume  and  many  brilliants  glis- 
tening from  her  throat,  goes  tripping  by,  looking 
fresh  and  rested.  She  is  accustomed  to  it.  If  we 
had  a  ladder  a  hundred  feet  long,  we  could  climb 
up  and  get  into  her  back  yard,  while  she  is  com- 
pelled to  wind  her  way  around  the  hill  for  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  to  get  to  her  front  door. 

We  are  just  in  the  midst  of  the  city.  Higher 
and  still  higher  are  houses  and  houses.  If  that  boy 
should  jump  from  the  window  from  which  he  is 
looking  he  would  go  five  hundred  feet;  almost  any 
man  could  surj)rise  his  neighbor  by  falling  into  his 
— the  neighbor's — front  yard  from  his  own  door- 
way. 

It  is  strange,  the  kind  of  a  life  the  poor  people 
live  here,  in  a  country  where  wide-awake  men 
make  fortunes  in  a  few  years!  A  Yankee  or  a 
German  laborer  would  desire  nothing  better  than  a 
chance  to  sell  produce  of  their  own  raising,  at  Val- 
paraiso prices;  but  the  Chilian  laborers  live  in 
their  little  seven-by-nine  houses,  and  eat  and 
drink  and  sleep,  and  nothing  more.     A  gentleman 


300  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

told  me  about  his  going  to  a  shoemaker  in  Brazil, 
to  get  his  boots  mended.  The  shoemaker  said  he 
would  fix  them  for  two  dollars. 

"All  right,"  said  the  man,  "when  can  I  have 
them?" 

"I  don't  know  till  I  ask  my  wife  how  much 
money  we  have  on  hand."  Returning  in  a  mo- 
ment, he  said:  "We  have  a  dollar  and  eighty 
cents,  senor,  and  that  will  last  us  three  days.  No 
use  to  work  as  long  as  we  have  money.  Let  me  see. 
This  is  Monday,  and  we  can  get  along  well  enough 
till  Thursday,  anyway;  so  I  can  fix  them  for  you  on 
Thui-sday  evening." 

But  the  Chilian  laborer  does  it  differently.  He 
will  promise  to  perform  the  work  right  away;  and 
will,  without  hesitation,  ask  you  three  times  as 
much  as  he  expects  to  get.  Having  agreed  upon 
the  price,  he  say s :  "You  can  send  around  for  the 
work  in  a  couple  of  hours."  To  make  sure  of 
getting  it  you  wait  four,  but  when  you  send  for  it, 
it  is  not  quite  ready,  so  you  wait  till  next  morn- 
ing. Still  it  is  not  quite  finished,  and  you  wait  till 
noon,  and  then  till  night,  and  the  next  day,  and  the 
next,  for  a  whole  week  before  you  get  it,  and  then  the 
good  workman  will  expect  a  little  present  for  being 
punctual.  By  the  time  a  man  has  resided  in  this 
countiy  a  few  months  he   learns  that  a  week  or  a 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  301 

month  is  considered  of  no  importance  in  business 
matters. 

Here  comes  a  fellow  down  the  mountain  side 
with  a  drove  of  turkeys.  '  'What  are  they  worth  ?" 
we  ask  him. 

"Seven  dollars  apiece,  senor." 

"I  don't  want  them." 

"I'll  take  four,  senor." 

And  four  dollars  each  is  what  he  will  get  any 
place  in  Valparaiso.  He  will  take  the  money  home, 
and,  next  day  or  so,  he  will  feast  like  a  king,  till 
eveiy  cent  is  gone.  Then,  the  day  following,  his 
wife  will  go  to  market,  buy  three  cents'  worth  of 
flour,  two  cents'  worth  of  beans,  a  cent's  worth  of 
potatoes,  and  four  cents'  worth  of  fuel,  and  the 
family  will  have  a  poor  man's  dinner.  Thus  they 
live  year  in  and  year  out.  They  make  no  progress, 
and  seem  to  have  but  little  ambition  to  better  their 
condition. 

There  is  one  thing,  however,  that  all  poor  women 
indulge  in,  and  that  is  a  white  petticoat.  It  is  all 
the  rage;  and  a  ragged  woman  would  as  soon  think 
of  doing  without  her  stiffly  starched  white  skirt  as  a 
Yankee  loafer  would  of  doing  without  his  pipe,  or 
a  pine  stick  to  whittle.  I  have  seen  poor  women  in 
Concepcion  tramping  around  in  clogs  and  bare 
ankles,  displaying  nicely  ironed  white  skirts.  I 
have  seen  others  in  bare  feet,  sloshing  through  the 


302  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

mud  ankle  deep  with  a  white  skirt  to  adorn  the 
dirty  legs  that  were  exposed  to  the  knees.  A  white 
petticoat,  a  black  mantle,  a  cigarette,  and  a  box  of 
musk  complete  the  dress  of  roto  women,  young  or 
old. 

A  poor  man's  wedding  in  Chili  is  the  one  great 
affair  of  his  life.  Here  is  a  plump  little  maiden 
who  would  become  a  belle  in  American  society; 
she  has  soft,  loving  eyes  with  long  lashes,  she  has 
peachy  cheeks,  a  dimpled  chin,  a  fair  complexion, 
a  rosy  mouth  closing  over  beautiful  teeth,  and  a 
graceful  form;  but  her  white  petticoat  and  black 
mantle  define  her  station.  She  is  quite  content 
therein.  She  never  tries  for  a  moment  to  look 
higher  than  her  own  caste — to  palm  herself  off  for 
somebody  and  marry  out  of  her  station.  No.  Her 
lover  is  a  young  rustic,  with  a  slouch  hat,  a  greasy 
skin,  a  black  complexion,  and  a  bullet  head,  who 
can  neither  read  nor  write,  who  has  no  property, 
and  who  cares  for  none  above  what  supplies  his 
daily  wants.  He  will  work  among  the  slums,  black 
your  boots,  steal  your  purse,  cut  your  throat  if  a 
good  opportunity  offers,  spend  all  of  his  money  as 
soon  as  he  gets  it,  always  gets  fair  wages  when  he 
works,  and  never  looks  decent. 

They  are  going  to  get  married.  He  must  have  a 
broadcloth  suit  and  she  the  richest,  downiest,  soft- 
est, white  silk  dress.   He  must  have  the  most  costly, 


PAST    AND   PRESENT.  303 

the  nicest  fitting  gloves,  and  she  must  have  white- 
satin  shoes,  a  quart  of  musk,  a  splendid  veil,  a  del- 
icate, daint}^  shawl  for  an  after-wrap,  and  a  profu- 
sion of  head-gear.  They  have  sold  the  cow,  the 
pig,  the  wagon,  the  scanty  house  furnitui'e,  and 
borrowed  from  all  the  neighbors  to  obtain  these 
indispensable  luxuries.  As  soon  as  the  ceremony 
will  have  been  pronounced  they  will  commence 
drinking  and  dancing,  and  they  will  drink  and 
dance  amidst  dirt  and  filth  until  the  white  dress, 
the  white  shoes,  the  white  gloves,  the  broadcloth 
suit  and  all  the  finery  can  never  be  worn  again 
only  by  ragged  people.  Then  they  will  commence 
the  business  of  life  in  a  dirt  hovel, with  a  kettle  of 
coals  for  a  stove,  a  box  for  a  table,  and  a  pallet  of 
straw  for  a  bed. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Yisiting  the  Schools— A  Cold  Eeception — Wanted  to  Show 
the  Programme — Some  Wonderful  Mathematicians  — 
At  the  Government  College  —  A  large  Building  — 
A  Kind  Keception^Methods  of  Study— School  Eoome 
and  Black-boards —  Bed-rooms  —  College  Jails  —  College 
Church — Theatres — Men  in  Petticoats — The  Good  fle- 
sult  of  Education — The  Number  of  Primary  Schools — A 
Professor  of  Geography — Studying  Theology — The  Cate- 
chism—Off with  your  Hat — The  Church  still  an  Educator 
— Public  Education — Meeting  the  Demand  fur  Better 
Teachers — Who  are  Educated  ? 

Xf  N  the  winter  of  1883,  in  company  of  two  lady 
^1  teachers,  I  started  on  a  tour  of  inspection  to 
■^^  visit  the  native  schools  in  the  city  of  Concep- 
cion.  As  the  school  buildings  are  all  so  con- 
structed as  to  give  ample  room  for  play-grounds 
in  the  open  courts  within,  the  children  are  not 
seen  from  the  time  they  enter  school  in  the  morn- 
ing until  their  return  home;  and  for  the  same  rea- 
son, as  well  as  from  the  fact  that  it  is  not  the  fash- 
ion for  parents  or  friends  to  visit  the  schools  during 
recitation  hours,  one  has  no  chance  to  judge  of  the 
merits  of  a  school  from  a  personal  knowledge  of 
its  inside  workings.  It  thus  happened  that,  al- 
though I  had  resided  in  the  city  for  some  time  and 
was  well  known   there  myself  as  a  teacher,   I  had 


past]  and  present.  305 

not  the  slightest  idea  of  the  kind  of  work  done  in 
any  other  school  besides  my  own. 

The  nearest  one,  only  two  squares  distant,  was 
a  large  school  for  boys  and  young  men,  known 
as  "Coiejio  Andres  Bello,"  containing  over  five  hun- 
dred students.  It  is  strange  how  isolated  from  all 
the  world  a  man  can  live,  in  one  of  these  large 
open-court  houses,  where  your  back  yard,  your  gar- 
den, your  well,  your  hen-house,  your  stable,  your 
wood-house,  your  parlors,  kitchen,  dining  and  bed 
rooms,  servants'  quarters  and  store-rooms  are  all 
within  the  same  walls  and  covered  with  the  same 
roof !  An  ordinary  individual  might  be  murdered 
and  hid  away  a  dozen  times  if  possible,  and  no 
one  ever  makes  inquiry  concerning  him.  So  it 
happened  that  I  had  lived  within  a  stone's  throw  of 
my  neighbor  for  a  year  and  had  never  seen  him,  and 
did  not  even  know  his  name.  We  called  at  the 
large,  double  front  door,  and  asked  the  porter  who 
held  the  keys  if  we  could  be  admitted. 

"It  will  be  necessary  to  see  the  director,  senor," 
said  he. 

We  sent  in  cards,  with  a  request  to  see  the  di- 
rector in  person,  who,  instead  of  admitting  us,  ap- 
peared at  the  door. 

I  said  to  him:  "Being  teachers  ourselves,  and 
having  leisure,  we  have  called  to  visit  your  school, 


306  civirjzATioN  in  chili. 

aud  learn  your  method  of  instruction.  I  hope  it  will 
not  be  inconvenient  for  you  to  admit  us." 

"Ah!  pardon  me,senor,"  he  said,  "could younot 
do  me  the  favor  to  call  uiDon  the  Sabbath?  The 
students  will  all  be  out  then,  and  we  will  have  the 
rooms  in  more   perfect  order  for  your  reception." 

"My  dear  sir!  that  is  just  what  we  do  not  wish. 
We  would  like  very  much  to  see  your  young  men 
and  hear  them  recite,  in  order  to  learn  your  meth- 
ods of  instruction." 

"Impossible,  seiior;  it  is  entirely  conti'ary  to  the 
customs  of  the  country  to  permit  visitors  to  hear 
recitations  in  any  school." 

"But  I  am  writing  for  the  press  in  my  own  coun- 
try, and  I  cannot  properly  represent  the  education- 
al interests  here  unless  I  am  permitted  to  see  the 
schools." 

"Oh!  Well,  I  can  obviate  the  difficulty,"  said 
he,  "I  will  lend  you  my  programme." 

"But  the  pro gi'amme  will  only  indicate  the  num- 
ber of  classes  and  the  houi'S  of  recitations  ?" 

"Of  course,  what  more  would  you  desire!" 

"I  would  like  to  see  your  school  just  as  it  is  now. 
I  would  like  to  pass  from  one  room  to  the  other 
and  hear  the  students  recite  in  the  different  branches. 
I  would  like  to  see  your  school  furniture,  your 
library,  your  laboratory,  and  such  things." 

"I  cannot  permit  you   to  hear  my   students  re- 


PAST    AND    PKESENT.  307 

cite,  for  I  can  assure  you  that  the  young  gentlemen 
are  not  used  to  it,  and  would  not  know  how  to  ap- 
pear to  advantage.  As  for  the  rest  if  you  will  be 
kind  enough  to  call  upon  the  Sabbath,  I  will  be 
happy  to  admit  you  and  give  you  all  the  informa- 
tion possible." 

One  year  later,  several  graduates  from  this  same 
school  entered  my  own  to  study  English  and 
mathematics. 

I  said  to  the  first  one  who  came:  "Are  you  famil- 
iar with  arithmetic  ?" 

"O,  jes,  indeed;  I  have  completed  the  course 
which  includes  arithmetic,  algebra,  geometry,  trig- 
onometry and  civil-engineering." 

"Very  well;  you  can  readily  tell  me,  then,  the 
per  cent,  of  gaia  in  buying  three-fourths  of  a  cord 
of  wood  for  six  dollars  and  selling  it  at  the  price  of 
a  full  cord  ?" 

"Excuse  me;  we  did  not  study  percentage  in  our 
school." 

"Ah,  indeed!   You  studied  interest,  of  course?" 

"A  very  little,  sir." 

"Do  you  know  the  multiplication  table  ?" 

"Yes,  sir,  most  of  it." 

"How  much  is  nine  times  nine '?" 

"Twenty -seven." 

"How  often  is  ten  contained  in  ten?" 

"Four  times." 


308  CIVILIZATION,  IN    OHILI. 

"How  long  did  you  study  algebra  ?" 

"About  a  month." 

"How  long  geometry?" 

"We  only  bad  eight  pages,  and  I  committed  that 
all  in  one  day,  and  passed  final  examination  the 
next." 

I  hesitate  to  record  this  conversation,  for  fear  it 
will  not  be  believed.  It  actually  occurred,  and  the 
young  man  was  by  no  means  a  dummy.  The  only 
explanation!  can  make  is,  that  the  average  Chilian 
student,  while  he  excels  in  writing,  Spanish  gram- 
mar, history,  picture  drawing,  and  the  languages, 
in  mathematics  he  is  almost  a  blank. 

"How  do  you  sell  this  paper?"  I  inquired  of  a 
clerk  in  a  book  store. 

"Two  bundles  for  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents." 

"How  much  for  one  bundle?" 

"At  the  same  rate,  senor?" 

"How  much  would  that  be  ?" 

Figuring  for  a  moment  he  replied:  "Eighty 
cents." 

And  so  it  goes.  Of  course  there  are  many  ex- 
ceptions, but  in  one  half  the  native  Chilian  small 
stores  a  person  can  purchase  articles  by  retail 
much  cheaper  than  by  wholesale,  simply  because 
they  do  not  know  how  to  compute.     "Golejio  An- 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  309 

dres  Bello"  is  by  no  means  a  "snide"  affair  except- 
ing in  the  matter  of  mathematics. 

We  next  visited  the  Jesuit  Seminary,  where,  con- 
trary to  our  expectations,  we  were  at  once  admit- 
ted, the  ladies  to  the  parlor,  while  I  was  shown 
through  the  house.  It  is  a  large  building,  cover- 
ing an  acre  or  more  of  ground,  and  everything 
about  it  was  in  beautiful  order.  There  were  pres- 
ent one  hundred  and  twenty  young  men  and  boys, 
all  dressed  in  black  robes.  The  whole  school  was 
divided  into  four  departments.  When  we  entered 
these,  the  young  men,  at  a  signal  from  my  conductor, 
rose  and  made  a  graceful  bow.  The  best  of  order 
prevailed,  but  I  was  not  permitted  to  hear  the 
much  coveted  recitations.  A  good  chemical  labor- 
atory was  evidently  kept  for  ornament,  but  I  must 
bear  record  that  the  director  of  this  institution  is  a 
scholarly  gentleman  and  a  very  devout  man. 

At  the  Liceo,  a  government  school  for  young 
men,  I  met  with  a  hearty  reception.  The  balding 
is  very  large,  coveiing  about  three  acres  of  land ; 
and  there  were  present  about  five  hundred  young 
men  and  boys  at  the  time  of  my  visit.  I  was  ush- 
ered into  a  large  patio,  or  open  court,  containing 
many  trees,  with  swings  and  other  things  for  the 
entertainment  of  the  students.  On  one  side  of  this 
was  the  director's  office,  well  supplied  with  cai-pets 
and  good  furniture,  as  well  as  a  suite   of  rooms 


310  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

containing  maps,  globes,  charts,  and  different 
laboratories — all,  as  I  firmly  believe,  kept  for  orna- 
ment. 

I  was  greatly  entertained  and  highly  amused  in 
this  college.  Everything  was  done  in  clock-work 
order,  and  moved  off  with  business-like  pre- 
cision. 

Marching  around  a  corridor  that  projected  from 
the  building  into  the  open  court,  were  about  one 
hundred  elegantly  dressed  young  gentleman,  study- 
ing law.  They  marched,  two-and-two,  clear  around 
the  hollow  square  of  the  court,  each  doing  his  best  to 
memorize  his  lesson.  As  they  marched  they  re- 
peated aloud  the  particular  passages  they  desired 
to  memorize,  each  one  talking  as  loudly  as  a  person 
does  in  general  conversation.  They  were  under 
supervision  of  a  teacher,  and  after  they  had  marched 
and  studied  for  an  hour,  to  the  minute,  they  were 
called  in  to  recite.  The  whole  affair  was  decidedly 
mechanical.  During  a  subsequent  visit  I  heard  a 
young  gentleman  of  eighteen  summers  memorizing 
his  lesson  in  English:  "The  ailephant  eez  a  large 
animal.  The  ailephant  eez  a  large  animal.  The 
ailephant  eez  a  large  animal,"  etc.  I  heard  him 
repeat  these  words  one  hundred  and  sixty  times, 
over  and  over. 

In  another  patio  was  a  large  class  of  boys,  from 
eight  to  twelve  years  of  age,  memorizing  whole 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  311 

volumes  of  grammar  without  comprehendiug  or  di- 
gesting a  single  sentence. 

The  school-rooms  were  curiosities.  The  black- 
boards were  outside  on  the  corridors,  used, 
seemingly,  for  playthings.  The  maps,  globes, 
charts,  dictionaries,  laboratorien,  were  all  under  lock 
and  key,  and  seemed  to  play  no  part  in  the  daily 
routine  of  school  labor.  A  row  of  benches  extended 
entirely  around  each  room,  where  the  young  gen" 
tlemen  would  sit  duiing  recitation  hours,  while 
the  professors  occupied  a  slightly  elevated  seat  in 
the  center. 

The  rooms  on  one  side  of  each  patio  were  devoted 
to  sleeping  purposes,  as  many  as  forty  beds  occu- 
pying one  large  room.  The  boys  and  young  men 
were  under  strict  vigilance  day  and  night,  and  each 
sleeping  room  had  its/ 'watch" — a  little  ante-cham- 
ber for  the  professor,  or  guard  appointed  for  the 
purpose,  so  constructed  that  he  could  lie  on  his  bed 
and  overlook  all  the  students  at  the  same  time. 

When  a  boy  became  boisterous  or  unruly,  he  was 
sent  to  jail,  of  which  there  were  as  many  as  one 
hundred,  I  think,  ranged  along  the  sides  of  one  of 
the  patios.  These  were  dark  vaults,  just  large 
enough,  each,  for  one  person  to  stand  in,  where  the 
offending  student  was  locked  and  left  to  meditate. 
By  the  time  he  remained  there  in  one  position  for 
six  hours,  he  was  generally  quite  docile.     A  pro- 


31 2  0IVILI2ATI0K   IN   CHILI.  ' 

fessor  informed  me  that  sometimes  boys  are  left  in 
these  jails  until  midnight. 

Other  rooms  were  used  as  kitchens  and  dining 
halls;  and  in  a  corner  room  of  one  of  the  best  patios 
was  a  church  with  numerous  shrines,  idols 
representing  different  saints,  confessionals,  and  the 
usual  array  of  wax  candles.  I  noticed  a  very  com- 
fortable bathroom,  also,  well  supplied  with  fresh 
water. 

A  theater,  with  elevated  stage,  movable  scenes, 
side  doors  and  footlights,  forms  quite  a  conspicu- 
ous part  of  this  college.  But,  the  poor  fellows! 
As  co-education  is  not  allowed,  and  as  any  young 
woman  who  would  associate  with  them  on  the  stage 
would  be  degraded,  they  are  driven  to  petticoats 
themselves.  I  have  attended  a  number  of  their 
dramatic  entertainments,  where  the  principal  act- 
ors were  young  men  in  female  attire. 

On  one  of  these  occasions  I  received  a  polite  note 
from  a  young  professor,  inviting  me  to  occupy  a 
box  in  the  principal  theater  in  the  city,  as  the  stu- 
dents had  determined  to  give  a  grand  entertain- 
ment, and  the  college  theater  was  considered  too 
small.  One-half  the  elite  of  the  city  were  present, 
and  the  darling  young  ladies  were  highly  enter- 
tained by  the  playing  of  two  coarse-voiced  young 
men,  gaudily  dressed  in  women's  clothing. 

A  garden  in  one  part  of   the  great  college  build- 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  313 

ing  was  full  of  beautiful  flowers.  There  was  also 
ample  room  for  a  poultry  yard,  a  horse  stable  and 
a  pigpen. 

As  superficial  as  the  above  would  indicate  edu- 
cational matters  to  be,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  it  is  the  earnest  of  a  naton  long  enthralled 
in  the  midnight  darkness  of  the  mother  country, 
and  of  Rome.    They  are  doing  grandly. 

Besides,  the  effects  of  education  in  this  republic 
are  very  noticable.  At  the  centennial  exhibition 
iu  Buenos  Ayres,  in  1882,  Chili  received  seventeen 
medals  of  first-class,  many  of  the  second,  and  dif- 
ferent bronze  medals,  amounting  in  all  to  one  hun- 
dred and  seventeen  premiums,  although  she  had 
but  a  few  weeks  for  preparation.  Home  industiies 
and  manufactories,  though  largely  in  their  infancy, 
have  lately  received  a  great  impetus.  The  press 
has  been  granted  the  widest  liberty.  Benevolent 
institutions  for  the  care  of  the  unfortunate  and 
feeble  have  been  erected  in  many  places.  The 
condition  of  both  army  and  navy  has  been  greatly 
improved.  The  merchant  marine  trade  has  been 
largely  increased,  and  commerce  with  other  nations 
augmented.  Agiiculture  has  been  extended.  The 
diplomatic  service  has  been  gi-eatly  enlarged,  so  that 
instead  of  having  but  four  foreign  ministers.  Chili 
has  plenipotentiaries  accredited  to  Mexico,  Cen- 
tral America,   United    States,   Colombia,   Brazil, 


314  OIVILIZATION   IN   OHILI. 

Argentine,  Uruguay,  Peru,  Bolivia,  England,  Ger- 
many, France;  and  all  the  nations  here  enumerated 
have  representatives  resididng  in  Chili. 

The  national  revenues  have  also  been  greatly 
increased.  Men  of  private  fortunes  have  become 
numerous.  Numerous  societies  of  credit,  loan  as- 
sociations, and  life  insurance  companies  have 
sprung  up  in  the  land  as  if  by  magic,  Books  of 
travel,  of  history,  of  philosophy,  of  law,  of  fiction 
and  of  theology  have  been  poured  out  in  the  land, 
the  product  of  home  talent  and  industry.  The  en- 
tire Federal  Government  has  been  greatly  elevated 
and  intensely  unified.  New  railways  are  opening 
up  new  fields  for  internal  commerce,  and  one,  now 
in  process  of  construction,  is  to  pierce  the  mighty 
Andes,  and  connect  with  the  Atlantic  ocean. 

In  1883,  there  were  in  Chili  753  primary  schools, 
giving  instruction  to  over  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  boys. 

A  large  per  cent,  of  these  schools,  however,  are 
under  the  control  of  the  priests,  and  are  attended 
only  by  the  children  of  the  poor.  I  visited  a  num- 
ber of  these  schools.  One  can  scarcely  imagine  the 
starvation  food  the  poor  little  fellows  are  stuffed 
with.  On  one  occasion,  a  grave  young  teacher  was 
giving  instruction  to  about  twenty  very  ragged,  very 
dirty  little  boys,  with  intelligent  faces  and  bright 
eyes,  in^elementary  geopraphy. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  315 

"Now,"  he  said,  "which  way  is  the  equator  from 
where  you  stand  ?" 

"It  is  north,"  said  the  boy. 

•'Right.     Is  it  warm  or  cold  there  ?" 

"1  do  not  know." 

"Ah!  well,  you  should  know  that theykW/te/* nor^/i 
you  go,  the  warmer  it  gets.  Which  way  is  Terra  del 
Fuego?" 

"South,"  answered  a  chorus  of  voices. 

"Right,"  said  the  j)rofessor.  "Is  it  cold  or  warm 
there?" 

"Very  warm,  sir." 

"Right  again,"  said  the  professor. 

On  another  occasion,  the  young  priest-professor 
was  giving  lessons  in  the  "elements  of  theology" 
from  the  Catechism: 

"Where  does  God  live?"  he  asked. 

"Everywhere,"  was  the  answer. 

"What  is  the  Church?" 

"The  Church  is  the  congregation  of  those  who 
have  been  baptized,  received  the  sacrament,  and 
obey  the  priests  and  the  Pope." 

"Why  is  it  called  the  Roman  Church?" 

"Because  in  Rome  is  established  the  great  Ca- 
thedral of  Saint  Peter,  who  was  prince  of  all  apos- 
tles and  successor  of  all  popes. 

"How  is  the  Christian  Church  divided?" 


316  CIVILIZATION    IN   CHILI. 

"It  is  divided  into  the  Church  triumphant,  the 
Church  of  purgatory,  and  the  Church  militant." 

"What  is  the  Church  triumphant?" 

"It  is  the  congregation  of  all  the  righteous  in 
heaven." 

"The  Church  of  purgatoiy?" 

"It  is  the  congregation  of  those  who  died  with- 
out doing  sufficient  penance  here  on  earth,  and 
who  have  been  sent  to  purgatory  to  suffer  for  a 
season  before  being  allowed  to  join  the  Chvu'ch 
triumphant  in  heaven." 

"Very  well;  tell  about  the  Church  militant." 

"The  Church  militant  is  on  earth,  and  is  com- 
posed of  those  who  have  been  baptized,  and  who 
fight  against  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil." 

"How  is  the  last  divided  ?" 

"Into  the  official  Church,  composed  of  the  Pope, 
the  bishops  and  the  priests;  and  into  the  common 
Church,  composed  of  the  people  who  follow  and 
obey  them." 

"Very  true,  indeed.  Tell  me  now  why  we  say 
holy  Mary  after  saying  Our  Father '?" 

"Because  we  have  no  one  else,  excepting  Jesus, 
in  heaven,  so  powerful  to  intercede  for  us  as  His 
holy  mother." 

"What  is  penance?" 

"It  is  a  sacrament  instituted  by  Christ." 

"Why  was  it  instituted  ?" 


PAST   AND   PRESENT.  317 

"So  that  those  who  make  confession  to  the  priests 
may  obtain  forgiveness  of  sins." 

"That  is  right.  When  did  Christ  institute  this 
sacrament  ?" 

"When  he  said  to  the  apostles  and  through 
them  unto  the  priests:  'Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Whose  soever  sins  ye  remit  are  remitted  unto  them; 
and  whose  soever  sins  ye  retain  shall  be  retained.' " 

"What  sins  can  the  priest  remit  ?" 

"All  those  committed  after  baptism  wherein  the 
person  repents  and  manifests  sorrow." 

"What  is  the  form?" 

"  'I  absolve  you  from  all  sin.'" 

"What  is  the  effect?" 

*"It  causes  great  grace  and  purity  to  rest  on  the 
person  absolved,  who  is  at  once  freed  from  sin." 

There  is  not  a  native  boy  in  every  one  hundred 
in  all  Chili,  who  cannot  repeat  these  questions  and 
answers.  The  Catechism,  a  book  of  ninety-six 
pages,  is  used  in  all  the  government  schools,  and 
apparently  forms  the  basis  for  education  in  the 
primary  schools.  The  whole  book  is  actually  com- 
mitted to  memory  by  repeating  it  over  and  over, 
day  after  day,  and  year  after  year. 

In  the  school  referred  to  above,  the  little  ragged 

*For  these  questions  and  answers,  see  Catholic  Catechism  (pages 
31,  32  and  76),  published  in  Spanish,  and  used  in  all  public  schools  in 
South  America. 


318  CIVILIZATION   IN   CHILI. 

boys  were  as  familiar  with  all  the  answers  as  an 
educated  man  is  with  the  alphabet.  The  school 
closed  its  session  with  the  repetition,  by  the  stu- 
dents, of  the  following  prayer: 

Jesus,  Joseph  and  Mary,  I  give  you  my  heart  and  soul; 

Jesus,  Joseph  and  Mary,  assist  me  in  my  last  agony; 

Jesus,  Joseph  and  Mary,  may  my  soul  expire  with  you  in  peace! 

Whereupon,  the  little  fellows  marched  out-doors; 
and  as  the  school-room  was  simply  an  addition  to 
a  large  church  building,  an  image  of  St.  Sebastian 
was  about  the  first  thing  they  encountered  after 
leaving  the  house.  Each  one  carefully  removed 
his  hat  as  he  passed  the  image,  in  token  of  respect 
and  reverence. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  from  the  above  that  the 
Church  still  exerts  a  powerful  influence  in  mould- 
ing the  minds  and  characters  of  the  youth,  in  this 
little  republic.  Still  1  believe  that  the  great  glory 
of  the  Church  is  fairly  broken.  Among  the  thou- 
sands of  priests  in  the  land  but  four  hundred  are 
natives,  the  rest  all  coming  from  Italy  and  Spain  to 
supply  the  demand, which  certainly  of  itself  speaks 
volumes,  Only  about  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  mem- 
bers of  Congress  belong  to  the  clerical  party, 
whereas  but  a  few  years  ago  they  all  belonged 
there;  and  besides,  the  State  Church  has  a  constitu- 
tional provision  for  an  archbishop  and  three  dio- 
cesan  bishoj)s,  offices  of  immense    value    to  the 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  319 

Church.  But  so  unpopular  are  the  clergj'  with  the 
law-making  body,  that  the  archbishop  and  two 
bishojis  having  died,  they  refuse  to  appoint  their 
successors. 

Public  education  in  Chili  is  divided  into  three 
grades — the  higher,  the  intermediate  and  the  pii- 
mary.  The  seat  of  learning  is  the  national  Univer- 
sity at  Santiago,  which  has  a  council  of  education 
that  superintends  all  the  higher  and  intermediate 
schools  of  the  country.  They  are  all  free — the 
Government  owing  the  buildings  and  paying  the 
salaiies  of  the  teachers. 

In  order  to  meet  the  demand  for  better  teachers 
the  Government  maintains  a  number  of  young  men 
at  great  expense  in  some  of  the  best  schools  in 
Europe,  to  educate  them  for  that  purj)ose;  and  the 
national  Congress  appropriated  $150,000  in  1883  to 
introduce  the  American  method  of  imparting  in- 
struction. 

In  all  the  high  schools  in  the  State  there  are 
about  three  thousand  students  enrolled.  A  man 
is  not  considered  educated  who  is  not  versed  in 
law  and  who  cannot  speak  two  or  three  languages 
sufficiently  well  at  least  to  pass  examination.  The 
latter  is  always  very  easy. 


CHAPTKR  XXIII. 

Punta  Arenas— Its  Origin— A  Wild  Place— Leaving  Civiliza- 
tion— Pluck — Building  Houses  and  Experimenting  in  Vege- 
tables— Establishing  Trade — Discovery  of  Gold  and  organ- 
izing a  Colony — Coal  Discovered — A  New  Era — Farming  on 
the  Straits  of  Magellan — Beautiful  Cattle— A  Church 
Building  and  a  School-house — Success  in  Spite  of  Difficul- 
ties— Punta  Arenas  the  most  Southerly  Point  of  Civilization 
— The  Town — The  Commerce — The  Patagonian  Indians — 
The  Indians  of  Terra  del  Fuego — A  Slandered  People — A 
Professor's  Lecture — The  Opinion  of  Eye-llVitnesses — An 
Interesting  Letter  from  Terra  del  Fuego — A  Keform 
Needed. 

TW\AR  away  on  the  western  coast  of  the  Straits 
jju  of  Magellan— the  home  of  the  penguin,  the 
'^^  sea-lion  and  the  guanaco — where  wind  and 
storm  and  cold  prevail  during  the  gi'eater  portion 
of  the  year,  is  situated  the  nineteenth  province  of 
Chili,  in  a  town  and  surrounding  counti-y  called 
Punta  Arenas. 

Many  years  ago,  either  for  political  or  criminal 
offenses,  the  Government  decided  to  banish  some 
prisoners,  and  as  no  more  desolate,  forsaken  place 
could  be  selected  where  they  could  possibly  sub- 
sist, they  were  sent  to  this  promontory  on  the 
Straits. 


PAST    AND    PRE8KNT.  321 

It  was  a  wild  place.  Wild  rocks  and  wild  waves, 
producing  nothing  more  edible  than  celery  and 
shell-fish,  were  the  principal  feature  of  all  the  sur- 
roundings. Wild  birds  went  screaming  through 
the  air,  and  wild  animals,  in  search  of  prey,  went 
roaring  through  the  scanty,  shrubby,  snow-hidden 
forests. 

When  the  prisoners  left  their  northern  homes,  a 
thousand  miles  away,  they  left  all  traces  of  civiliza- 
tion, never  more  to  return.  South  of  them  were 
the  "furious,  human  tigers" — the  Indians  of  Terra 
del  Fuego  —and  still  farther  south  as  well  as  west, 
the  cold,  dreary  wastes  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  East 
of  them  were  the  snow-clad  mountains,  and  on 
their  north  was  the  great  wilderness  and  the  wild 
tribes  of  Southern  Patagonia. 

The  true  history  of  their  struggles  and  hardships 
will  never  be  known;  for,  undoubtedly,  no  one 
ever  dreamed  that  they  would  survive  one  genera- 
tion after  another,  much  less  that  they  woidd  el- 
bow their  way  through  such  a  sea  of  desolation, 
and  compel  the  mother  country  to  acknowledge 
them  as  citizens,  having  rights  equal  with  all  other 
men. 

The  first  care  of  the  banished  prisoners,  of 
course,  was  to  erect  for  themselves  homes,  which 
they  could  do  without  great  difficulty  from  the 
trees  of  the  surrounding  forests.     By   experiment- 


322  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

ing  they  ascertained  that  certain  vegetables,  such 
as  the  potato,  cabbage,  lettuce  and  cauliflower, 
could  be  profitably  grown  during  the  short  summer. 
Their  early  care  was  also  to  establish  friendly  re- 
lations with  the  slovenly  Patagonians,  from  whom 
they  commenced  the  purchase  of  hides  and  furs  to 
sell  again  to  passing  vessels.  In  this  way  the 
place  in  time  became  quite  a  trading  post,  and  cer- 
tain vessels  anchored  regularly  in  the  little  harbor. 
Other  prisoners  were  added;  but  as  the  numi)er8 
increased  new  opportunities  were  also  aflbrded. 
Gold  was  discovered  in  paying  quantities,  and  in 
due  time  the  prisoners  organized  themselves  into  a 
colony  obeying  certain  rules  and  regulations.  A 
town  sprang  up  bearing  the  significant  name  of 
Punta  Arenas  (Poonta  Arraynus),  point  of  sands. 
Later  on  large  quantities  of  coal  were  discovered, 
and  the  inhabitants  lost  no  time  in  communicating 
the  fact  to  passing  vessels.  It  marked  a  new  era  in 
their  lives.  Six  Peruvian  warships  were  the  first 
to  purchase  this  mineral;  but  in  a  remarkably 
short  time  the  place  became  well  known  to  Ameri- 
can and  European  steamers  as  a  convenient  place 
to  obtain  supplies  of  fresh  water  and  fuel.  The 
condition  of  the  little  colony  grew  better  every 
day.  The  land  extending  rearward  from  the  town 
for  a  distmce  of  ten  miles  was  divided  into  farms 
for  the  raising  of   cattle,  horses,  i)oultry,  and  such 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  323 

vegetables  as  would  thrive  there  during  the  very 
short  summers.  Wheat  would  not  mature,  but  an 
abundance  of  hardy  grasses  were  introduced  that 
made  excellent  fodder  for  cattle.  The  latter  are 
said  to  bfi  the  finest-looking  in  the  world,  having 
soft,  velvety  hair,  and  looking  round  and  sleek  like 
a  silk  hat. 

A  comfortable  church  building  that  cost  three 
thousand  dollars  was  followed  by  a  school-house, 
where  the  children  received  instructions  during 
the  entire  year.  A  government  building  was 
erected,  at  a  cost  of  five  thousand  dollars.  A  caar- 
tel,  or  jail,  was  also  constructed,  and  the  town  and 
colony  were  put  under  military  control,  with  forty 
soldiers  in  uniform  to  do  pf)lico  duty  and  be  ready 
for  unexpected  attacks  from  the  Indians. 

Thus,  despite  the  dreary  surroundings,  the  bar- 
ren wastes,  the  cold  rains  and  long,  stormy  winters; 
despite  the  fact  that  they  were  isolated  and  cut  off 
from  all  civilization,  and  compelled  to  reside 
among  the  wilds  and  desolations  of  an  almost 
frozen  country;  despite  their  ignorance,  their  half- 
Indian  natures,  without  books  or  papers  or  friendly 
counsel  from  any,  with  nothing  more  hopeful  than 
for  them  and  their  offspring  to  remain  there  for- 
ever— instead  of  degenerating  to  the  savage  con- 
dition of  their  suiToundings,  they,  one  by  one, 
overcame  the    difficulties   that  beset  them;    they, 


324  CIVIMZATION   IN   CHILI. 

step  by  step,  improved  their  condition,  grew  in 
wealth  and  influence,  until  the  nation  that  had 
banished  them  saw  the  wisdom  of  removing  the 
ban  and  restoring  them  to  full  citizenship.  This 
was  done  in  1883,  the  colony  and  district  organized 
into  a  new  province,  and  a  governor  sent  from 
Santiago  to  rule  over  them. 

Punta  Arenas  is  interesting,  as  marking  the  most 
southerly  point  of  civilization  in  all  the  world.  It 
contains  abont  two  hundred  houses,  comfortably 
built  of  wood,  on  streets  extending  northeast  and 
southwest,  with  cross  streets  dividing  the  whole  in- 
to seventy-two  *'mausans"  (apples),  or  blocks.  The 
principal  street,  called  Magellan,  is  paved  with 
stones,  and  eight  entire  blocks  are  surrounded  with 
sidewalks.  Eveiy  square  in  the  town  is  enclosed 
with  high  palisades,  after  the  manner  of  enclosing 
lots  with  high  walls  of  masonry  in  all  the  towns  of 
Chili. 

Near  the  town  are  two  fresh  water  streams, 
called  Mine  and  Hand  rivers.  From  the  sand  wash- 
ings of  the  former,  quantities  of  gold  are  obtained. 
In  the  small  district  are  also  three  other  fresh 
water  streams,  known  as  Three  Bridges,  Three 
Arms,  and  Deer  rivers. 

The  commerce  is  limited  to  coal,  gold,  guanaco 
and  fox  hides,   and   the  skins   and  feathers  of  os- 


PAST  'and  present.  325 

ti'iches  and  swans,  which  are  named  in  the  order  of 
their  importance. 

The  Indians  that  occasionally  visit  Punta  Arenas 
are  deserving  of  passing  notice.  Those  of  south- 
ern Patagonia,  unlike  the  sturdy  Americans,  are 
tall,  rather  slender,  and  instead  of  being  almost 
black,  are  of  reddish  caste,  like  the  tribes  of  North 
America.  They  are  excessively  slovenly  and  lazy, 
subsisting  entirely  upon  the  products  of  the  chase 
and  of  the  ocean,  are  fond  of  trinkets  and  jewelry 
made  of  shells,  bones  and  silver,  have  an  abhor- 
rence of  gold,  and  dress  in  the  rudest  and  simplest 
manner.  The  hide  of  the  pretty  guanaco  is  fast- 
ened around  the  body  under  the  arms,  with  the  fur 
side  out,  and  extends  to  the  knees;  another  hide, 
with  a  hole  in  the  center,  through  which  to  pass 
the  head,  falls  over  the  shoulders.  Their  shoes, 
which  they  call  abarca,  are  made  of  rawhide,  with 
leggings  of  the  same  material  extending  to  the 
knees.  The  hair  is  worn  long,  and  is  held  in  place 
by  strings  or  strips  of  cloth,  which  often  are  large 
enough  to  form  a  kind  of  turban  or  covering  for 
the  whole  head. 

As  slovenly  and  degraded  as  these  Indians  ap- 
pear, they  have  some  redeeming  qualities.  If 
treated  well,  they  are  kind  and  neighborly.  They 
do  not  practice  polygamy,  and  they  believe  in  the 
immortality   of   the  soul.     They   worshij)   a  (ireat 


326  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

Spirit  called  Coche,  who  they  are  sure  has  a  very 
tender  heart,  is  loving  in  disposition,  forgiving  in 
nature,  and  is  waiting  for  them  in  another  life,  with 
all  the  good  things  necessary   for   their  exis'ence. 

The  good  things  are  summed  up  in  the  belief  of  a 
plentiful  supply  of  food  and  furs,  plenty  of  wine — 
of  which  they  are  very  fond,  and  which  they  pur- 
chase from  the  Chilians — and  a  hunting  ground 
where  there  are  no  storms  and  no  night.  The  Ind- 
ians of  Terra  del  Fuego  are  a  badly  slandered  set 
of  people.  Perhaps  there  is  not  a  gazeteer  or  en- 
cyclopedia of  general  information  j)ublished  in  all 
the  world  that  does  not  speak  of  the  Fuegians  as  a 
small,  almost  dwarfish  tribe  of  Indians,  possessing 
but  little  or  no  intelligence.  I  well  remember  a 
college  professor,  a  grand  man  of  wonderful  knowl- 
ege,  standing  before  a  class  in  geography,  explain- 
ing the  condition  of  these  people. 

"They  are  very  ugly,"*  he  said;  "their  average 
height  is  only  about  four  feet  and  a  half,  and  they 
are  the  most  ignorant,  most  degraded  people  in  the 
world.  They  have  large  heads,  large  bodies  and 
short  limbs,  are  very  uncleanly,  and  even  filthy  in 
their  habits,  and  file  their  front  teeth  sharp  like"those 
of  a  dog.  Their  food  consists  almost  wholly  of  fish 
and  a  yellow  fungus  about  the  size  of   an  orange, 

*  From  notes  on  Terra,  del  Fuego,  taken  when  a  student  at  the  State 
Normal  School,  at  Emporia,  Kansas,  1870. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  327 

that  grows  on  the  small  birch  trees.  They  are 
greatly  attached  to  their  dogs,  and  in  seasons  of 
famine,  kill  and  eat  the  old  women  rather  than  the 
dogs."  The  professor  was  simply  giving  the  com- 
monly accepted  opinion,  in  America  and  Europe, 
of  these  Indians,  as  well  as  an  expose  of  the  stuff" 
that  will  occasionally  insinuate  itself  into  our  best 
encyclopedias — the  latter  of  course  unintentionally 
and  innocently. 

If  the  words  of  two  parties  residing  in  Chili, 
with  whom  I  have  conversed,  men  of  ordinary  "truth 
and  veracity,"  who  have  visited  these  Indians  in 
recent  years,  can  be  relied  upon,  the  Fuegians  are 
nf^ither  small  nor  ignorant,  below  that  of  ordinary 
Indians.  They  are  of  average  height,  are  well 
proportioned,  have  a  few  cattle — introduced  by  the 
misi-ionaries,  without  a  doubt — and  sometimes  culti- 
vate the  poil. 

These  statements  are  fully  verified  by  a  letter 
from  the  pen  of  Rev.  Thomas  Bridges — a  mission- 
ary now  laboring  among  the  Indians  of  Terra  del 
Fuego— published  in  Dr.  Ti-umhulVs  Record  in  Val- 
paraiso, in  1878.  He  says:  "I  am  now  on  board 
the  A.  Gr.  'en  voyage' to  Wollaston,  the  scene  of  the 
wreck  of  Hazelline,  in  order  to  make  inquiries  in'o 
a  certain  murderous  afiray,  which  transpired  three 
weeks  ago,  between  a  small  body  of  natives  and 
the  little  schooner  Rescue.     *     *     J  take  occasion 


328  CIVILIZATION    IN   CHILI. 

on  the  present  opportunity  to  visit  different  spots 
en  passant,  to  encourage  the  natives  in  their  effoits 
to  develop  the  resources  of  the  country  and  in- 
crease their  social  comforts,  by  their  personal  in- 
dustry in  cultivating  the  soil.     *     *     * 

"Some  of  the  spots  the  natives  have  settled  in 
are  most  beautiful  and  suitable,  and  moderate  in- 
dustry would  repay  them  a  hundred  fold  in  increas- 
ing the  supplies  of  wholesome  food  to  carry  them 
through  the  winter.  They  will  thus  obtain  better 
health,  and  steady  industry  will  help  to  produce 
other  good  qiJalities.  It  will,  for  instance,  cause 
them  to  look  upon  a  place  as  their  home;  they  will 
build  better  dwellings,  and  cease  to  be  the  house- 
less wanderers  they  have  for  ages  been.  To-mor- 
row I  hope  to  be  down  to  Lenox  to  give  the  natives 
their  solemn  warning.  I  hear  they  have  been  say- 
ing that  if  they  get  a  chance  to  enrich  themselves 
by  murdering  any  ship's  party  they  will  do  so. 

"I  shall  make  good  use  with  them  and  others  of 
the  futile  and  disastrous  attempts  of  the  Wollaston 
Islanders  to  warn  them,  assuring  them  that  though 
they  may  succeed,  it  will  only  and  surely  tend  to 
their  own  destruction.  I  doubt  not  I  shall  thor- 
oughly shame  and  humble  them.  The  natives  at 
Ushooia,  were  very  indignant  when  they  heard  of 
the  bravado  of  the  Lenox  Island  natives. 

"Fred  Hamacana,  his  wife,  and  two  boys  are  with 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  329 

me.  I  propose  leaving  this  family  at  Wollaston 
Island,  of  which  she  is  a  native,  that  he  may  be  a 
go-between  for  the  mariners  visiting  the  wreck,  and 
the  natives  who  may  come  to  the  place.  Here  as 
elsewhere,  we  find  the  strong  addicted  to  im- 
posing upon  the  weak.  Thus  men  of  inflnence  get 
lads  and  poor  fellows  to  work  for  them  in  every 
menial  employment  for  nothing.  This  oppression 
we  are  useful  in  putting  a  stop  to,  by  stating  the 
rights  of  every  man  as  God's  creature,  and  the  duty 
of  every  man  not  selfishly  to  seek  his  own  things, 
but  generously  to  seek  the  good  of  his  neighbors. 
Thus  for  instance,  atOuilooshooia,  which  we  visited 
this  morning,  the  two  chief  men  are  Chicole  and 
Tunamootaze,  brothers.  They  are  both  men  of 
force,  strong,  proud  a:ad  domineering.  They  de- 
mand as  of  right,  the  unrequited  labor  of  the  other 
poorer  natives,  instead  of  urging  them  each  to  work 
for  himself.  Yes,  they  would  get  all  the  praise 
and  profit,  and  look  upon  themselves  as  superior 
to  the  rest,  and  more  deserving  of  our  consideration, 
because  they  had  gardens,  which  the  rest  had  not. 
"AtUshooia,  we  have  largely  put  matters  to  rights 
in  these  ways,  where  every  one  does  his  own  work 
or  pays  for  such  labor  as  he  hires.  There  is  the 
same  tendency  here  to  keep  others  down  who  are 
down,  by  the  strong,  and  no  tendency  to  raise  the 
fallen  or  to   help   the   weak.     *****     "wTq 


330  'civilization  in  chili. 

have  occasion  from  time  to  time  to  exert  discipline, 
as  was  the  case  on  ^Sunday  last.  I  had  given  no- 
tice for  the  baptism  on  that  day  of  certain  chil- 
dren of  certain  baptised  persons,  but  meanwhile  I 
had  heard  of  one  of  them  committing  grievous  sins 
that  called  for  public  censure,  and  which  com- 
l^elled  me  to  withhold  baptism  from  his  child,  as, 
with  this  sin  upon  him,  he  could  not,  without  the 
greatest  impropriety,  take  the  vows  of  a  Christian 
parent  without  turning  the  whole  baptismal  ser- 
vice into  mockery.  So  I  gave  jDublic  notice  to  him 
accordingly,  and  stated  further,  that  not  before  he 
had  obtained  the  forgiveness  of  the  injured  party, 
and  publicly  confessed  his  repentance  for  his  crime, 
could  I  baptise  his  child.  He  was  a  valued  work- 
ingman,  yet  we  dismissed  him,  though  there  is  a 
great  press  of  work  at  present. 

"A  canoe  has  just  left  the  vessel's  side  contain- 
ing a  handsome  Indian,  one  of  the  tallest  fellows 
down  here,  and  his  wife,  equal  in  form  and  stat- 
ure to  himself.  These,  after  the  usual  custom, 
called  out  for  pity  and  kindness,  chiefly  in  con- 
nection with  giving  them  food.  I  told  them  plainly 
that  in  these  matters  they  do  not  deserve  pity, 
at  least  at  the  present  season  and  under  the  pres- 
ent circumstances  of  fine  weather.  I  told  them 
that  they  deserved  pity  for  their  ignorance  and 
sin,  and  that  I  was  not  sent  to  fill  their  stomachs 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  331 

or  cover  their  backs,   but    to    teach  them  how  to 
please  their  Maker,  and    how    to  obtain  his  favor 
and  blessings.     They   were    ofifended,    but  if   one 
will  do  his  duty  here,  as  well  as  everywhere  else, 
he  must  from  time   to  time   oflend  the  self-indulg- 
ent nature  of  sinful  man.     The   erection  of  the  or- 
phan home  is    the  great    work   now    on  hand  at 
Ushooia.     For  it,    all    the    material,    boards  and 
framing  are  prejDared  on   the  spot.     Much  lumber 
has  still  to  be  cut,  but    Mr.    Whaits   hopes  by  the 
end  of  ten  weeks  to  have  sufficient  to  complete  it. 
"As  regards  the  language   sj)oken  by   these  na- 
tives, I  am  getting  onward  with  its  dictionaiy,  which 
will  contain  at  least  18,000  words,  and  700  pages 
of  34  lines  to  the  page.     It  is  most  regular  and  in- 
genious in  its  structure,  and   on  its  face   beai's  the 
divine  impress.     The  wonder  is  how   so  depraved 
and  miserable  a   peoi^le   kept  up   their  language, 
which  is  so  comprehensive  and   regular.     This  can 
only  be  accounted  for  by  their  living  in  public,  and 
not  shut  ofi"  in  family  seclusion.    Thus  they  always 
moved  about  in  company,  and  four  or  more  families 
would  crowd  into  a  single  wigwam.     The  children 
heard  every  word  ppoken  of,  came  into  contact  with 
hundreds  of  persons,  and   were   living   constantly 
hearing  the  lively  discourses  of  many  people.  Thus 
these  poor  people  knew   intimately   more   persons 
than  most   people  do  who   live   in   civilized   com- 


332  CIVIUZATION,  IN    CHnj. 

munities,  and  heard  and  took  a  share  in  much 
more  conversation  than  is  common  with  a  reading 
and  fully  occupied  society.  Again,  it  is  difficult 
for  us  to  imagine  what  these  poor,  despised  people 
could  find  to  talk  of  in  their  monotonous,  dreary 
life,  and  yet  their  talk  over  their  little  matters  was 
as  full  of  real  interest  and  importance  to  them  as 
the  most  exciting  news  from  Eiu'ope  is  to  us. 

"Some  time  back,  a  certain  Sisanianjiz  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  settle  out  at  a  beautiful  place  some 
three  miles  from  Tushcapalan,  the  name  of  our 
settlement  at  at  Ushooia,  pronounced  Ooshiooia. 
Accordingly  he  went  there  with  his  wife  and  fam- 
ily, and  one  or  two  friends.  They  built  a  wigwam, 
and  had  plenty  of  wood  and  water  at  hand.  But 
late  in  the  afternoon  they  heard  a  strange  voice  or 
cry,  whether  from  owl,  hawk,  bird,  beast  or  evil 
spirit,  they  knew  not,  and  were  too  much  frightened 
to  ascertain,  saying:  'Sapiccoosh!  Sapiccoosh!' 
which  means  'bloody  arrow-head.'  They  forthwith 
packed  up  and  hastened  back  to  Ushooia  from  the 
fated  spot,  and  made  themselves  a  general  laugh- 
ing-stock. Thus  ended  the  first  attempt  of  our 
home  people  to  settle  thsmselves  abroad. 

"In  the  great  valley,  some  three  miles  from 
Tushcapalan,  there  are  certain  deep,  narrow  pools, 
called  pools  of  dead  men  by  the  natives,  in  which 
we  have  lost  many  head  of  cattle.     The   sides  of 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  333 

these  pits  of  unascertained  depth  are  clean  -walls, 
slightly  converging  as  they  rise,  of  compact  and 
growing  peat." 

Thus  it  appears,  from  the  very  best  of  evidence, 
that  the  Fuegians  are  fully  as  wide  awake  and  in- 
telligent as  most  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  North 
America;  and  they  certainly  seem  to  offer  a  more 
encouraging  field  for  the  missionary  to  disseminate 
Christian  civilization  than  is  to  be  found  among 
many  of  the  other  nations  of  red  men  better  known 
to  the  world.  It  is  time  that  the  trash  solemnly 
recorded  in  our  encyclopedias  and  taught  in 
schools  and  colleges  concerning  these  people,  who 
"have  large  heads,  large  bodies  and  short  limbs," 
and  "file  their  teeth  like  those  of  a  dog,"  should 
be  superseded  by  the  very  interesting  and  whole- 
some factf .     Let  us  have  a  reform. 


Chapter  xxiv. 

Chili's  Opinion  of  Polygamy — Good  Ofi&cers  and  a  Pure  Gov- 
ernment— Patriotic  People — Promptness — The  Election  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Santiago — His  Rejection  by  Leo  XIII — 
How  the  Nation  Dealt  with  the  Holy  See — The  Pope  De- 
nounced and  his  Envoy  Sent  Home — The  Future  of   Chili. 

'W'lF  Chili  had  a  Utah,  she  would  blot  it  out  of  ex- 
J^  istence  in  twenty-four  hours.  Boss  Tweed 
^•■and  like  characters  would  be  sent  to  the  Hill  of 
Death — place  of  public  execution — and  anybody  of 
men  attempting  such  frauds  as  are  continually  be- 
ing practiced  upon  the  United  States  Government 
would  be  branded  as  traitors  and  driven  from  the 
country. 

The  Chilian  Government  is  officered  by  the  best 
and  purest  men  in  the  nalion;  and  so  jealous  are 
they  of  their  national  integrity,  so  proud  of  their 
rapid  strides  in  the  scale  of  civilization,  that  all 
matters  of  jurisprudence  and  civil  service  are 
watched  with  a  faithful  and  almost  sacred  interest. 
That  black-eyed,  dark-skinned  servant,  who  lives 
in  rags,  and  who  is  too  ignorant  to  te'l  you  the 
time  of  day,  would  drive  a  dagger  to  the  heart  of 
any  man  who  would  dare  to  speak  sneeringly  of 
his  nation. 


PAST    AND    PKESENT.  335 

Throughout  all  classes  of  society  the  same  spirit 
of  loyalty  is  manifest.  Congress  hesitated  not  one 
moment  to  declare  war  against  the  combined  pow- 
ers of  Peru  and  Bolivia  when  the  actions  of  those 
countries  threatened  the  nation's  character. 

In  1878  the  office  of  Archbishop  was  made  va- 
cant by  death,  and  in  conformity  with  the  Consti- 
tution the  President  nominated  and  the  Senate 
confirmed  a  Mr.  Tafaro  to  succeed  to  the  office. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  ability  and  worth.  Forty 
years  of  his  life  bad  been  spent  in  public  service  as 
a  priest.  He  was  the  founder  and  director  of  thi'ee 
institutions  of  learning,  one  of  which  was  for  the 
training  and  develoj^ment  of  the  rising  priesthood. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  council  for  the  control  of 
charitable  institutions.  He  was  a  leader  in  the 
societ}'  for  the  gratuitous  instruction  of  the  poor 
and  unfortunate  youth.  He  published  at  his  own 
expense  a  book  adapted  to  the  wants  and  conditions 
of  prisoners,  and  spent  years  of  service  in  bringing 
about  a  needed  reform  to  better  their  moral  and 
physical  condition.  Everywhere  his  great  worth 
was  acknowledged,  and  his  zeal,  his  charity,  his 
toil,  his  piety  had  impressed  civilians  of  the  first 
rank  as  well  as  the  drunkard  in  the  gutter. 

But  Mr.  Tafaro's  platform  was  too  broad  to  suit 
Rome;  and  the  Government  committed  an  unpar- 
donable sin  in  nominating  him  for   this  high  office 


336  CIVILIZATION    IN    CHILI. 

without  first  consulting  the  Pope,  as  had  always 
been  done  on  former  occasions. 

As  a  consequence  the  Holy  See  refused  to  ac- 
knowledge the  nation's  choice,  and  demanded  anew 
man — one  about  whom  it  should  be  consulted  be- 
forehand, so  as  to  keep  up  the  farce  of  having  been 
the  power  that  filled  the  important  office.  To  com- 
pensate Mr.  Tafaro  for  his  wounded  feelings  the 
Holy  Father  proposed  to  elevate  him  to  the  dig- 
nity of  "Eousehotd  Prelate  and  Apostolic  Protho- 
Tiotai'y."  Promptly  the  answer  went  back  by  wire: 
"  Proposition  refused — clashes  with  our  organic  law 
— creates  conflict  with  Congress  and  public  opinion — 
dishonors  the  candidate  presented." 

The  Pope  was  not  silenced  ;  on  the  contrary,  he 
kept  up  a  vigorous  correspondence,  made  many 
threats,  and  finally  sent  over  an  envoy.  Bishop  of 
Heiraerna,  to  rouse  the  people  against  their  Gov- 
ernment. The  patience  of  the  high-minded  Re- 
public, however,  reached  a  climax,  in  the  winter  of 
1883,  even  with  his  highness,  the  Pope.  The  Gov- 
ernment rejected  him  as  a  tyrant  and  a  bigot,  sent 
his  envoy  his  passport,  with  orders  to  leave  the 
country  inside  of  eight  days,  and  thus,  at  one  vig- 
orous blow,  drove  to  the  head  the  great  wedge 
that  will  eventually  effect  a  separation  of  Church 
and  State. 

What  may  we  not  expect  from  such  a  vigorous. 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  337 

young — young  in  the  sense  of  having  been  recently 
born  into  civilization — Republic  ?  Truly  her  future 
is  very  bright.  With  agriculture  still  in  its  infan- 
cy, and  tens  of  thousands  of  acres  of  rich,  alluvial 
soil  in  virgin  condition  awaiting  the  plow;  with 
untold  wealth  hidden  away  in  undeveloped  mines; 
with  unbounded  prospects  awaiting  oncoming 
manufactures;  with  a  climate  so  varied  as  to  suit 
all  classes  and  conditions,  and  to  insure  the  luxu- 
ries of  rich  tropical  fruits  and  the  hardier  gi'ains 
and  fruits  of  the  temperate  zones;  with  unknown 
and  unbounded  forests  of  giant  trees  awaiting  the 
woodman's  ax;  with  unexplored  coal  fields  awaiting 
the  pick  and  the  shovel;  and,  above  all,  with  a  de- 
termined and  high-minded  people  who  love  their 
nation  better  than  they  love  their  lives — one  can 
easily  predict  that  there  is  awaiting  this  little  Re- 
public a  future  both  bright  and  glorious,  and  that 
in  time  to  come  she  will  occupy  a  station  both 
high  and  gi'eat  among  the  civilized  nations  of  the 
world. 


APPENDIX. 


Govern  iviENT. 

Including  the  newly  acquired  territory  of  Tarra- 
paca,  Cbili  has  an  extreme  length  of  more  than 
2,000  miles,  while  lis  average  width  is  only  about 
120  miles.  Its  boundaries  mark  the  whole  of  the 
western  sloj^e  of  the  Andes  niountains,  from  sum- 
mit to  sea  and  from  the  Straits  of  Magellan  on  the 
south  to  its  farther  limit  on  the  north.  This  great 
length  of  coast  line  is  separated  into  nineteen  prov- 
inces, including  Araucania;  and  the  most  of  them 
reach  from  the  top  of  the  mountains  to  the  sea,  and 
are  separated  from  each  other  either  by  mountain 
spurs  or  by  rivers.  The  provinces  are  themselves 
separated  into  departments,  some  havicg  two, 
others  three,  four,  and  even  six.  Coquimbo  has 
six;  Valdivia  and  Lanquihue  only  two;  Santiago, 
the  most  densely  populated  province,  has  five,  and 
Valparaiso  four.  The  departments  are  again  divided 
into  townships,  which  are  very  numerous,  being 
as  many  as  four  hundred.  These  townships,  or 
sub-delegations,  are  also  divided  into  districts, 
which  are  the  smallest  political  divisions  in  the 
country. 


f 

PAST    AND    PRESENT.  339 


The  political  constitution  of  Chili  resembles  that 
of  the  United  States.  There  are  four  distinct  pow- 
ers of  government:  the  Executive,  invested  in  the 
President;  the  Legislative,  invested  in  the  two 
houses  of  Congress;  the  Judicial,  invested  in  the 
various  judges  of  the  Court;  and  the  Municipal, 
whose  influence  is  confined  to  the  provinces.  The 
President,  however,  exerts  a  controlling  influence 
over  all  of  these,  so  that  the  great  tendency  is  cen- 
tralization and  unification  of  power. 

The  chief  executor  is  elected  every  five  years, 
and  since  1871  is  not  eligible  to  re-election  except 
after  an  interval  of  one  term.  He  has  five  secreta- 
ries in  his  cabinet,  and  is  otherwise  assisted  by  a 
Council  of  State,  composed  of  eleven  members, 
five  of  whom  he  names  himself,  the  other  six  being 
named  and  elected  by  Congress. 

The  President  receives  a  salary  of  $18,000  a  year 
in  Chili  cun-ency,  equivalent  to  about  $12,000  in 
gold,  and  also  has  the  privilege  of  residing  in  the 
treasury  building.  The  cabinet  officers  each  re- 
ceive six  thousand  dollars  in  the  currency  of  the 
country.  The  members  of  Congress  serve  for 
nothing  and  furnish  themselves. 

The  dift'erent  jDrovinces  are  governed  by  Intend- 
entes,  who  are  appointed  by  the  President,  and  who 
are  the  heads  of  the  municipal  governments  and 
also  mayors  of  the  cities.     Their  powers   are  limit- 


340  CIVILIZATION   IN    CHILI. 

ed  almost  exclusively  to  the  will  of  the  President. 
Their  salaries  are  $4,000  a  year  each,  with  resi- 
dence. 

The  different  departments  ai'e  presided  over  by 
Governors,  named  also  by  the  President.  Some  of 
them  receive  a  salary  of  $2,500  a  year,  others  re- 
ceiving as  low  as  $1,000—  owing  to  the  wealth  and 
jDOwer  of  the  department.  The  townships  are  pre- 
sided over  by  sub-delegates  appointed  by  the  Gov- 
ernors, and  the  districts  by  inspectors  appointed 
by  the  sub-delegates— all  serving  without  pay. 

The  members  of  Congress  are  elected  every  three 
years.  In  the  Senate  there  are  thirty-seven  mem- 
bers, elected  by  the  people  of  the  provinces,  who 
can  read  and  write,  and  luho  either  have  properly  or 
an  income  of  $200  per  annum — no  other  person  be- 
ing allowed  to  vote.  In  the  House  of  Deputies 
there  are  108  members,  elected  from  the  depart- 
ments. 

The  six  Judges  composiug  the  Supreme  Court 
reside  in  Santiago,  and  are  occupied  in  most  part 
with  cases  of  real  estate,  war  claims,  and  criminal 
offenses  of  great  magnitude. 

The  municipal  authority,  composed  of  the  city 
councils  and  Intendenty ,  is  so  limited  that  they  have 
not  the  power  to  expend  more  than  $100  without 
the  consent  of  the  President. 

Each  department  has  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  dig- 

I 


PAST    AND    PKE8ENT.  341 

nified  with  the  title  of  Judge,  and  some  have  as 
many  as  five  or  six— owing  to  the  population. 

In  all  the  land  there  are  four  Courts  of  Appeal, 
two  of  which  are  in  Santiago,  one  in  Concepcion, 
and  one  in  Serana. 

The  Government  is  expending  large  sums  of 
money  to  encourage  European  laborers  to  colonize 
in  its  frontier,  and  become  citizens.  Each  head  of 
a  family  is  given  200  acres  of  land,  lumber  to 
build  a  house,  a  yoke  of  cattle,  a  cart,  a  plow,  a 
quantity  of  seed ,  and  fifteen  dollars  per  month  for  the 
first  year — the  latter  as  a  loan  for  eight  years  with- 
out interest.  Large  numbers  of  energetic,  indus- 
trious German  peasants  are  taking  advantage  of 
this  great  liberality.  In  twenty  years'  time  it  will 
effect  great  changes  in  the  statistics  of  this  coun- 
try; and  it  is  destined  to  revolutionize  the  labor 
question  and  make  it  honorable. 

The  total  income  of  the  nation  in  1883  was 
$44,007,752;  the  outlay  was  §40,037,073— a  saving 
of  nearly  four  millions.  On  the  Ist  of  January 
there  was  in  the  treasury  the  sum  of  $13,820,610. 
The  national  debt  is  being  reduced. 

It  has  been  charged  by  foreigners  residing  there, 
that  Chili,  instead  of  being  a  republic,  is  an  oli- 
garchy, which,  to  a  certain  extent,  is  true.  There 
is  no  doubt  but  what  the  Government  has  been  for 
a  number  of  years  in  the  hands  of  a  comparatively 


342  CIVILIZATION    IN    OHTLI. 

few  lich  and  influential  men.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  one  cannot  shut  his  eyes  to  the  fact  that  they 
are  the  only  men  capable  of  holding  the  reins  of 
government. 

For  a  great  many  years — over  three  hundred — 
education  was  confined  almost  exclusively  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  doctrines  and  dogmas  of  Eome, 
and  the  country  was  in  a  deplorable  condition  of 
ignorance  and  vice.  Very  happily,  however,  a  few 
rich  men  penetrated  the  overshadowing  gloom,  and 
sought  and  found  the  light  of  liberty;  and  it  was 
but  natural  that  they  should  become  the  rulers  of 
the  land.  Happily,  also,  they  were  all  men  of 
great  honor,  who  held  the  welfare  of  the  nation  far 
above  their  individual  interests;  and  the  wonderful 
improvements  throughout  the  land,  with  "a  school- 
house  on  every  hill,"  bear  witness  to  their  loyalty 
and  devotion.  So  that  it  can  well  be  said  that,  if 
Chili  is  an  oligarchy,  then  the  oligarchy  has  been  a 
vast  improvement  on  wider  principles  of  democ 
racy,  in  the  present  instance. 

Cluviate. 

In  point  of  temperature,  a  surface  so  rugged,  and 
having  such  an   extreme  length — about  29^^  of  lati 
tude — and  an  altitude  of   four   miles  within  2'^  30 
longitude,  must  present  a  great  variety.    The  com- 
bined action  of  the  ti'ade  winds  and  the  Andes 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  343 

Mountains  graduates  the  rainfall  from  the  parching 
skies  of  the  north  to  the  drenching  clouds  of  the 
south.  North  of  Valparaiso  it  rarely  ever  rains — 
in  fact,  one  good  rainfall,  continuing  for  twenty- 
four  hours,  would  destroy  untold  wealth  of  saltpetre 
and  other  minerals.  At  Valparaiso  showers  of  rain 
fall  frequently  during  the  winter  months;  while 
about  one  hundred  miles  further  south  there  is 
an  abundance  of  rain  for  agricultural  purposes. 
From  the  beginning  of  this  agricultural  district, 
extending  southward  for  a  distance  of  four  hun- 
dred miles,  the  climate  and  the  productions  are 
similar  to  those  of  California.  At  Concepcion,  less 
than  four  hundred  miles  south  of  Valparaiso,  the 
rainfall  is  so  great  and  the  climate  so  cool,  that 
corn  does  not  mature  well.  Still,  in  the  same  dis- 
trict, figs,  lemons,  oranges  and  pomegranates 
mature  every  year,  and  make  good  crops,  and  wheat 
is  sure  and  very  protitable.  Southward  the  rain- 
fall, as  well  as  the  cold,  gradually  increases  to  the 
almost  constant  storms  of  sleet  and  rain  on  the 
Straits  of  Magellan.  All  this,  of  course,  applies 
only  to  the  level  ground;  almost  any  variety 
of  climate  can  be  had  as  we  gradually  ascend 
the  mountains.  The  extreme  heat  in  the  agricul- 
tural district  is  92*^  Fahrenheit,  while  the  extreme 
cold  is  only  24'',  giving  a  mean  temperature  of  58°. 
The  annual  rainfall  north  of   Valparaiso  is  noth- 


344  oiviLrzATioN  in  ohili. 

ing;  at  Valparaiso,  about  19  inches;  at  Santiago, 
22  inches;  at  Talca,  40  inches;  at  Concepcion, 
from  48  to  G8  inches;  at  Valdivia  it  is  100  inches, 
which  is  the  greatest  on  the  whole  Pacific  coast  of 
South  America. 

F'KODUCXION  s. 

Agriculture  in  Chili  is  in  its  infancy.  There  are 
more  miles  of  railway  than  of  good  wagon  roads . 
The  country,  however,  is  rapidly  being  developed, 
and  a  few  years  hence  thousands  of  broad  acres 
that  are  now  lying  idle  will  be  in  cultivation.  In 
1883  there  were  20,000,000  bushels  of  wheat  grown. 
In  the  same  year  the  country  produced  40,000  tons 
of  copper  and  15,000,000  quintals  of  saltpetre.  The 
exports  that  year  were  $79,000,000  in  currency 
value,  and  the  imports  were  $54,000,000,  gold  value. 
Only  one-seventh  of  all  the  exports  are  agricultur- 
al productions;  five-seventh  are  the  products  of  the 
mines — gold,  silver,  copper,  saltpetre,  guano  and 
iodine — the  remaining  one-seventh  being  made  up 
of  hides,  lace  (made   by  hand),  and  woolen  fabrics. 

PvIlSCELLANEOUS. 

Chili  has  1,800  miles  of  railway,  and  two  other 
lines  in  process  of  construction.  There  are  5,000 
miles  of  telegraph,  and  a  cablegraph  from  Valpar- 
aiso connecting  with  the  United  States  and  Europe 


PAST    AND    PRESENT.  345 

bv  way  of  Panaiua.  There  are  twelve  daily  papers, 
250  post-offices,  and  telephones  and  electric  lights 
in  Valparaiso  and  Santiaj?o. 

The   population  of  Chili  is    2,250,000,  of   whom 
only  47,000  are  allowed  to  vote. 


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